Working from photographs I have taken myself, this is a series of recent figurative works in pastel.
I attend the wonderful monthly Monoprint party at Salmagundi art club where I create monoprints based on drawings made from life at local aquariums. I’m also in a linocut class at New York Academy of Art where I create linocuts from drawings I made at the American Museum of Natural History.
On my weekly walks in Greenwood Cemetery I like to visit and photograph the koi fish they have there. These are pastel drawings of these active fish.
I have had the delightful experience of drawing the taxidermy and animal models after hours at the American Museum of Natural History for over ten years now. I use artist markers in shades of peach and purple - my favorite colors.
As a huge dog lover I embarked on a project to draw as many neighborhood and friends’ doggies in pastel as I could over the pandemic.
I have always enjoyed crafts projects and sewing. I printed my animal art on fabric and made a variety of products from quilts to cushions to baby books.
On neighborhood walks in Brooklyn or trips further afield to my native South Africa, I snap quick shots on my iPhone. I love working from these in pastel.
During the pandemic I started to document what my teenage son and his friends were doing to keep themselves amused. I worked in pastel from photographs I took of my son or photos sent to me by his friends’ mothers.
I had the privilege of studying pastel still life under Maceo Mitchell and Wennie Huang at the Pastel Society of America. These are some works from their classes as well as setups I made myself at home. I include my first oil still life too.
