PSST! It’s time to enter
We know you’re busy. Lots of do. Painting. Life. Painting. Fun. Painting. Grocery store. Painting. Shopping. And more painting. Add in thinking and planning – and maybe a glass of wine or two – and every hour is filled.
 
To make your life just a wee bit easier, enter Art of The Pastel 2016 today. As in right now. Enter and you can cross one more item off your list. Here’s the link: http://www.pastelsocietyofsoutheasttexas.org/art-of-the-pastel-2016.html. From here you get the details and a link to the actual entry form.
 

What? Don’t have your entry ready? Get back to the studio and get working.
 
Art of The Pastel 2016 is PSST’s annual, open-call, juried exhibition spotlighting the work of pastel artists throughout the United States. The show is Monday, September 26 through Saturday, October 22 at Galerie Spectra here in Houston, Texas.  Opening reception and awards presentation is Friday, September 30 from 6 to 8 p.m. Selection jurors include Paula Ann Ford, Ellie Orseck and Jeanne Rosier Smith; award juror is Christine Swann. Cash prizes totaling $1,250 will be awarded.
 
Members and non-members [tell your friends] can enter. The deadline is Wednesday, August 10. Entering is easy – it’s all online.
 
For more information, contact Carolina Dalmas, [email protected] or 832.567.0683.

"One of the most important factors to displaying art well is space. When displaying artwork I have found that it is important to give artwork room to breathe. It is also important to give the viewer room to step back," says Jason Horejs, owner of Xanadu Gallery in Santa Fe and writer of the Red Dot Blog. And what better title could a gallery owner give to his blog!

In his article Effective Art Display, Jason develops ideas about space, flow, and lighting. These all apply whether hanging paintings on your walls at home, holding an open studio tour, or most importantly in exhibiting. Click the link to read the full article. You could also subscribe to his blog.

Rae Andrews demonstrated her unique approach to painting and humor at the April 2, 2016 meeting of PSST.

Start a painting with a fun, unplanned beginning. Be open to how it progresses. Finish with unexpected beauty. That's the recipe Rae Andrews stirred together with water, squeezed-on acrylics. straws, pastel pencils and pastels. AND her eraser and foam magic.

One big take-away point: think constantly about the design and flow of the work, and the painting will look good turned in any direction. Rae did most of the work in the vertical format, refined it horizontally, and the final looked perfect in all four directions.