Matthew Weld, Pastels

Artist's Statement:

Artists express their emotional attachment and response to the landscape through their paintings. By manipulating the forms, color temperature and values, the artist is able to share his or her interpretation of the landscape.

Most of my subjects come from the Midwest, where I live. However, some subjects are from Western Montana, where I grew up, or from places I visit. For me, spending time with Nature is one of those necessities for a balanced existence.

My pastels are created on a rigid, foamcore panel rather than the traditional sanded pastel paper. This way, I am able to cut exactly the shape that best fits the image I have in mind (it also helps in framing!). The first task is to prepare the panel to accept the dry pastels. Since the panel is white, and the surface often shows through on a finished pastels paintings, I first apply a color - or two or three - using acrylic paint. I have used many colors, and it often depends on what the image will be, but my favorite color right now is a sort of yellow ochre - that rich, golden color that is present in so many of the plants and light of landscape painting.

The next step is to apply a rough texture to the panel, since pastels are basically pure powdered pigment held together with just enough binding agent so they can be handled by the artist. Because of this, they don't stick to smooth surfaces. I use a gesso-like material to which I add finely powdered pumice, the same pumice that is added to facial scrubs. Often times, the brush strokes of the pumice application show through on the finished painting, added a dimension that increases the complexity of the finished painting.

After all this dries, its time to paint! Usually, I first draw a value study in my sketch book to work out any compositional or value problem areas. On the panel, I rough in the basic shapes - and I mean BASIC. I start with the focal point, and work out from there, giving me rough guidelines from which to work. Blocks of color are then applied, sometimes rubbing them in to ensure the board is completely colored (as in the sky and water water of Chinook on the Bois Brule). Other times, the texture of the board is allowed to show through (as in much of Muddy Road). Generally, I work from dark to light, with the sky usually being the first part to be completed. Once the value (the darks and lights) of the sky and the focal point are established, the rest of the composition is created to support the focal point. Final details are used to focus the light, which is what can make a painting really special, and truly touch the viewer.

Please contact me with comments or questions.

All content and images are copyrighted and property of Matthew Weld.

site last updated March 3, 2009