Dear Friends and Collectors,

Writing from Europe where pandemic orders are still in place, I am feeling very optimistic of a more united future post-covid.

Six weeks in Venice were a time for deep exploration in the realm of dry pastel, a medium often misunderstood and relegated for the past 100 years to a minor art. Perhaps this is because pastels are equated with cheap colored chalk that easily smudges and is impermanent? In fact, I use the incomparable Sennelier dry pastels. Many artists used pastels to sketch ideas and explore color. One of my favorites is Odilon Redon, a French symbolist working in the early 1900's, as wells as earlier Impressionists, such as Degas, Cassatt, and Morissot.

In today's contemporary art world, is it viable to revisit this misinterpreted medium and can I create some unique images of nature using the rich and luscious colors in my Sennelier palette? The answer is yes. During my short residency at the Palazzo Reale Garden in Venice, pastels provided an exquisite way to express the movement and force of nature. I was also inspired by the Renaissance paintings and decors with festoons and garlands of rich fruit and flowers and reimagined these motifs in pastel as a cornucopia of abundant fruit spilling across the page in fresh interpretations.

Pastel is an intensely direct medium: the pure pigment powder in chalk/stick form is applied directly to the surface with the hands. It is also the oldest form of artwork with prehistoric cave drawings made from pure pigment or scorched wood charcoal. In a recent proposal to the Getty Pacific Standard Time 2024 exhibitions, I included some interpretations of these earliest drawings created 15,000-17,000 BCE depicting measurements of time and constellations. With pastels, there is no mixing, blending or layering: each strike on the surface is permanent. To get the depth of color, two colors are placed together so the eye interprets a third color. Neo-Impressionists, such as Seurat, used this “optic color” method with Pointillism (though typically done with oil paints). Pastels bring a unique urgency and vibrant energy to my work.

In August I return to SoCal to participate in the Newport Beach Garden Tour at Sherman Gardens, and will be doing a pastel demonstration during the fun Summer Garden Party on Saturday August 28. I hope to see you there! Until then,

Yours in art, Gianne

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