Show Preview | Mile High Pastel Exhibition

Parker, CO
Parker Arts, Culture & Events Center, July 12-August 27

Leslie Trujillo-Batts, Cherry on Top, pastel, 16 x 22.

Leslie Trujillo-Batts, Cherry on Top, pastel, 16 x 22.

This story was featured in the July 2018 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art July 2018 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

The Mile High National Pastel Exhibition moves to Parker, CO, this month for its 14th annual juried show. Considered the premier exhibition of the Pastel Society of Colorado, the event features 80 pastel works by leading artists from around the United States and Canada. The show kicks off with an artists’ reception and awards ceremony at the Parker Arts, Culture & Events Center on Thursday, July 12, at 6 p.m. Works remain on view and for sale through August 27.

Home to two professionally curated galleries, PACE hosts a variety of art shows each year. “It’s a very beautiful venue, and it accommodates our exhibit wonderfully,” says Nancy Dee, who co-chairs PSC’s show with fellow artist Xenia Sease. “We’re really excited about presenting this dramatic collection of works by national artists, which both the casual viewer and the serious collector can enjoy.”

More than $13,000 in cash and merchandise awards are bestowed upon 23 artists on opening night. This year’s juror and judge of awards is Portland, OR, landscape painter Marla Baggetta, who treats visitors to a demonstration earlier that evening at 5 p.m. Beginning on Friday, July 13, Baggetta teaches a three-day workshop at PACE, and on Sunday, July 28, artist Bruce Gomez demonstrates his painting process from 10 to 11:30 a.m.

The Mile High show has always highlighted a variety of genres and styles in the pastel medium, from realism to abstraction. And year after year, the artists have also revealed new and unexpected techniques in their work, says Dee. “The jewellike quality of pastels continues to attract artists to explore its boundless possibilities,” she notes. “Pastels allow an artist to work in an intimate, direct manner with vibrant sticks of pure pigment that have just enough binder to hold their shape. A pastel stick, applied stroke by stroke onto an abrasive surface, embeds opaque particles of color in the tooth of the paper, where they reflect like a prism. There’s no other medium that allows the power of opaque color luminosity.”

Founded in 1994, the PSC works to promote pastel artists and encourage an appreciation for pastel painting. As one of the largest pastel societies in the U.S., the organization unites artists throughout Colorado and across the country. —Kim Agricola

contact information
www.pscshows.com

This story was featured in the July 2018 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art July 2018 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

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