Q&A with Richard Rees, President of The Pastel Society
/ Pastel Society
The Pastel Society Annual Exhibition is currently open at Mall Galleries and runs until Saturday 3 June.
We spoke to the president Richard Rees about the importance and relevancy of this wonderful medium, which arguably has been historically underrated.
Pastels are one of the oldest known artistic mediums, with natural chalks being used for prehistoric cave paintings, and the soft pastels we know today were developed in the 16th Century. Are you able to speak about the historical importance of the medium?
The rise of oil painting and watercolours in the 18th Century has masked the fact that during this period pastel was a more prestigious medium and commanded greater prices per work. Industrial scale production of the new pastel medium made them affordable, with paints becoming the medium of choice for artists. Great artists like Degas still saw the potential in pastels in the 19th Century and looking around our exhibition this year it can be seen that it lends itself to adventurous interpretation.
Sparks Lake, Oregon | Tony Allain | 50 x 65cm | £2,800
A unique medium with over a thousand vibrant colours immediately to hand, pastels have so many incredible versatile uses! Who are some of the members of the Pastel Society whose work you feel particularly demonstrates the vibrancy and versatility of the medium?
I think it slightly unfair to single out individual artists as everyone in the Pastel Society is selected by their peers and each artist has a unique approach. However, artists like Tony Allain have a striking approach. He uses soft pastel in a fast and direct manner with an intensely vibrant palette creating shimmering effects of light and shade.
Norma Stephenson has a more subdued palette but she delivers beautiful soft landscapes with subtle colour harmonies showing her local landscapes in the north of England. Finally, Felicity House has an eclectic approach to subject matter but the same relaxed touch for each one where she conjures effortless drawing to the service of representing people, still lifes, and landscapes.
Garden Table | Felicity House | 48 x 38cm | £750
What draws you to pastel works and why do you feel it is an exciting and relevant medium?
The directness of the medium is astonishing to me. You can pick up a stick of colour and apply it directly and quickly, and the range of colours is so attractive. There are pastel colours available that you would have a job creating in oil and watercolour without a lot of thought. The medium is exciting and relevant due to its potential for this direct expression. It can also be used in a photorealistic manner as seen in Ian Rawling’s wonderful toy cars.
Aside from the artists previously mentioned, is there anyone’s work that you are particularly looking forward to seeing in the exhibition?
My colleague Simon Hodges, the Vice President of The Pastel Society, is a prolific artist and creates wonderful sketchbooks. He is sharing his sketchbooks and answering questions about his work and the pastel medium in various sessions at Mall Galleries during the run of the exhibition. Click here for a listing of the events including these sketchbook sessions.
Benjamin Hope is a great artist in any medium, and is primarily an oil painter, but his pastel work is always sensually attractive and demonstrates his appreciation of the medium. Another artist who works primarily in oils is Peter Brown, but his wonderful charcoal streetscapes create a deeply textured and lively view of his home town of Bath, which I've loved seeing on the gallery walls.
Broad Street, Bath | Peter Brown | 43 x 56cm | £1,400
What would you tell a collector, who perhaps hasn’t purchased pastels before, to look for when purchasing a pastel artwork, and what are the differences to note between oil pastels and soft pastels, for example?
Anyone buying a pastel, or any other painting should follow their gut instincts. The overall impression of so many pastel works will at first be quite overwhelming because of the intensity of colour that pastels present. Once the colour has sunk in, I suggest considering the other work by an artist that is attracting you (if there are any). This will help you make an assessment of how the artist’s approach is affecting you.
Most of the work in the exhibition is soft pastel and there is not a lot of oil pastel but the latter is my medium of choice. It tends to be rougher than soft pastel because it is difficult to get a fine line in the medium, which can be attractive in its own way. I use a technique of acrylic ink underpainting which gives a contrasting sharpness to the overlaid oil pastel, which can be seen in my piece Laon Cathedral West Front.
