Beechwood by Peter Perry
The Pastel Society – Member of the Federation of British Artists
For more information about the Federation of British Artists please view the promotional video:
https://youtu.be/IAyqHNAlfMM
To View The Magic of Pastel
To View ‘In Conversation with Carole Hubscher CEO of Caran d’Ache’
FBA Fundraiser – FBA Editions
Prints for a Cause
Limited Edition Prints from the Federation of British Artists
To view the full range of prints available:
https://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/exhibitions-events/fundraiser-fba-editions
Pastel Society Members Tanya Avchinnikova and Ian Rawling are featured.
THE ReMARK May 2026
Recently I caught, what have must have been a repeated TV programme about Northumberland & a visit to the Unison factory, as it was then. It has since moved! Mentioning this to member Cheryl Culver, she wrote back; “John and I visited Unison many years ago and were made very welcome. We sat at the huge table in their kitchen and watched the red squirrels through the window. We were shown around the manufacturing area and I confess we were given some pastels. It was fascinating. Likewise, we also visited Caran d’Ache in Geneva. John, being John, decided we would tow the caravan to Geneva with Lottie our English Setter on board and visit Caran d’Ache and the result was the first sponsorship of the PS. Carole Hübscher made us most welcome and again what a fascinating visit to their factory. Going back to Unison, I spotted on their website Tony Allain and a number of artists who have exhibited with the PS over the years.”
Fiona Carvell, Michele Ashby & Janine Baldwin are associate members of Unison.
This April, Members were invited to visit the Daler Rowney Factory. President Richard Rees and his wife Gloria, as well as Simon Klein, winner of the Daler Rowney award this year, Jane Hodgson, and new member Rachel Arif all attended and ‘apparently asked more questions than most tours.’ I will let Jane tell you more.
“Who knew that Daler Rowney began in 1783 as a company producing powders for wigs in! In the entrance hall of the Berkhamsted factory – the main UK base – there are three original pigment bottles which include vastly costly Lapiz Lazuli. Then they got involved with helping Turner and Constable. It’s now part of a bigger umbrella company of art material manufacturers that cover the globe! It was fascinating being inside this huge building with tubs of powders on shelves and partially mixed containers of acrylic, gouache, covered with clingfilm. Squidging them felt like firm jelly. The precision machines all needed people constantly observing and checking to ensure quality, correct labelling and packaging was really heartening to see. Amazon robots it is not. Up in the research room with John and Claudia we saw all the developing sheets of colours to ensure consistency, check performance against other brands, and to develop new colours for the range of pastels. Daler Rowney used to run a huge range of pastels but that is now being developed by one of the other subsidiaries. DR produces a smaller range of lovely pastels, with a new pastel producing room being developed. Lots of kids’ pigments – they even design the kids’ felt pens so they don’t dry quickly when the lids are left off. The most well-known adult product is the System 3 Acrylic. After trying various mediums to get it to mix like oil and water and to run, I was hooked. And learned that the DR fluid acrylic small containers can be refilled so getting over my dislike of all the plastic containers (which are made in the factory with recycled materials). The lightbox for testing if fluorescent paints really are, is fab. As part of her routine tests, Claudia swipes paint samples across metal tiles to see if they are ground finely enough. Fantastic day and can thoroughly recommend their products – I loved the System 3 the Lyra polycrayon soft (went onto wet paper beautifully!), Lyra brown tones set of pastels, Canson Mi Teints double sided pastel paper, Dahler Rowney double tip markers, Dahler Rowney acrylic inks, and Georgian water mixable oils.”
We rely on manufacturers and they rely on us. Engagement is so important in both directions.
Finally, but not least, Peter Perry kindly sent two images of his soft pastel’ work. ‘Beechwood, Glynn Valley’, sold in the RA Summer Exhibition and ‘Pond.’, Whilst I disagree with him when commenting ‘fairly rough’, I completely agree when he says, ‘I do feel this medium is underrated overall, including at big shows like the RA. I have one shortlisted there this year but it’s an oil.’ Keep pastel painting Peter.
Good painting. Simon B. Hodges VPPS
info.thepastelsociety@gmail.com
Photographs from the Daler Rowney Visit
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Works by Peter Perry
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Featured artist
Jayne Perkins PS
Artist’s Statement:
Being brought up on the Somerset Levels proved exciting and inspiring! It was the ever-changing appearance of the landscape that inspired my early attempts at painting. If the land wasn’t flooded it was flat and broken only by the dyke edges which supported the beautiful willows that were pollarded as soon as the floods receded. It was here that my interest in painting our ever-changing landscapes became my challenge. Over the years I have strived to go beyond the obvious beauty of the vista and to take the onlooker into a world of complex textures and allow them to feel the wind, rain and sun. I want them to experience the sunrise, sunset and a storm on the moors. For me it is not enough to paint just what I see, I need to paint what I experience and feel when I look at a landscape.
