Dear Reader,
As I look out from where No.6 or more accurately Patrick McGoohan stayed at Portmeirion whilst filming The Prisoner in the 60’s, I am reminded of the words of the architect, Clough Williams-Ellis, who had the inspiration for this enchanting Italianate style village.
“Cherish the past, adorn the present, construct the future.”
I hope that unlike me, whether you are a member or a non-member, you are currently undertaking work in pastel, dry media, or mixed media to ‘adorn’ the walls of the Mall Galleries next year. It is certainly a time that all but the most efficient artists are suddenly realising that time is disappearing fast and yet when the mind is not sent into panic, there is still plenty of opportunity to produce a piece of work which will be of both credit to yourself and to what we are all trying to achieve in these wonderful mediums.
And so, I wanted to just say a few words (we can but hope) about the submission guidelines. We do not receive many questions prior to submission, but when we do, we are happy to respond because with originality and innovation comes a ‘moving of the goalposts.’ Technical quality is a pre-requisite. The work by the established artist that we question with ‘I could do that,’ is testament to years of training and knowledge has resulted in originality challenging us to take another step into the unknown. We may grow to like it or hate it, but we cannot ignore it.
So, to the artists worrying about the percentage of pastel or dry media in their mixed media work, I say, ‘forget percentages.’ What is carrying this painting? What is doing all the work? Are you forcing pastel and dry media onto something or is the magical quality of pastel, charcoal, or pencil ‘mark-making’ front and centre in the work? In other words, whatever the subject, let pastel or dry media lead you down paths that you do not achieve with other media.
Finally, another vital component of any work is the framing. You do not have to spend a fortune to get this right, but you can spend a fortune and get this wrong. The time, effort, and money you will spend on everything else can be wasted by poor frame choice. Talk to people that you trust and follow up any good sources of information, but I would say remember that not everyone’s tastes are the same and so simplicity is often the safest option and that the right frame can be reused IF your masterpiece does not sell the first time.
As Beth Chatto allured to and my gallery owner friend always told me,
“Right painting, right place & right time, right buyer!”
Good painting
Simon B. Hodges PPS
info.thepastelsociety@gmail.com
