The upcoming exhibition, Purely Pastel, opening this Friday night at the Percy Thomson Gallery, showcases more than 90 works by members of Pastel Artists of New Zealand (PANZ).
The three-day National PANZ convention is being held at the gallery this weekend with workshops by two international pastel artists.
This exhibitionis an ideal opportunity for people to see the latest works from exceptional pastel artists and to learn more about this enduring art form made popular by painters such as Degas, Renoir and Cassatt.
Artists use the medium for its vibrant colour, vitality and immediacy. Visitors can be confident of seeing a variety of approaches.
Pastels—dry, satiny colours, manufactured in sticks of every hue—enjoyed a surge in popularity during the 18th century, becoming, for a time, the medium of choice for European portraiture. Unlike oil paints, which required laborious studio procedures and long sittings and drying times, pastels were portable and allowed speedy execution—the chance, essentially, to "draw" a painting.
Pastels are known for having a luminescent quality from the layering techniques used to create paintings in this medium. The purity and vibrancy of the colour, as well as the subtle, velvety surface of a pastel painting, are unique qualities.
Pastels are very versatile - they can be used as both a drawing and a painting medium. By twisting and turning the pastel stick you can create several different effects – fine, precise lines, broad, sweeping strokes and solid dense layers of colours – and these can be combined in an almost infinite number of ways.
English artist Tony Allain has been a full-time painter, author and international instructor in pastel for over 45 years. He lived in New Zealand for 10 years and is a Master of the Pastel Artists of New Zealand.
Tony is exhibiting, as well as holding a workshop this weekend. He's a self-taught painter of colour, light and movement with an understanding of his surroundings.
"The quest for perfection can bring with it fear of making mistakes and can result in a style which can seem inhibited. I am not interested in pure representation. My work is about responses to the moods and atmospheres generated by landscape, still life or interior. The most precious thing we artists have is our visual language."
Tony lives and works from his studio near the ancient market seaside town of Marazion in West Cornwall.
PANZ was founded in 2002 when 30 people attended a meeting in Blenheim. Since then membership has grown to more than 200, encompassing beginners to professionals, and is steadily growing as knowledge of the diversity of pastel spreads.
