Pastels USA: 99 Voices in Pastel will be open August 31, 2023 to October 29, 2023 at the Haggin Museum in Stockton, California. The Awards Ceremony and Reception will be on September 9, 2023 from 2pm to 4pm. Join us and meet the artists!
We Talk Art is the new quarterly Zoom presentation for members of the PSWC. Bonnie Zahn Griffith will be chatting with well known artists in an informal virtual setting. These distinguished guests will be sharing their stories, processes, tips and more. The link to these interviews will be sent to members and posted on our Facebook page. The series will feature “live” interviews, so participants may post questions and comments during and after the interview.
September 24, 12:00 Noon PST – Featuring Mitchell Albala: For more than 30 years, Mitchell Albala has been a dedicated landscape painter and teaching artist. His atmospheric and semi-abstract landscapes have been exhibited nationally and are represented in corporate and private collections. Mitchell is the author of two popular books on landscape painting: Landscape Painting: Essential Concepts and Techniques for Plain Air and Studio Practice; and most recently, The Landscape Painter’s Workbook: Essential Studies in Shape, Composition, and Color, which is currently the best selling book on the subject in the nation.
October 15, 12:00 Noon PST – Featuring Clark Mitchell: Designated a Master Pastelist by the Pastel Society of America and a Distinguished Pastelist by the Pastel Society of the West Coast, Clark has received numerous awards in local as well as national competitions. In 2005, he won Best of Show at the Laguna Plein Air Invitational; and in 2011, Best of Show in the Maui Plein Air Painting Invitational. His paintings have been on the cover of American Artist, Southwest Art and the Pastel Journal.
WORKSHOPS
Artists are lifelong learners, and we offer great learning opportunities through in-person and virtual workshops. Upcoming workshops include: Aaron Schuerr, Nancy King Mertz, Vianna Szabo, Rita Kirkman and Judy Leeds.
Go to our workshop page here for more information and go to the Event Calendar to register for a workshop here
Need help to access workshops? Find out about our workshop SCHOLARSHIPS by contacting us here.
WELCOME!
You don’t have to live on the West Coast to become a member! With PSWC members located throughout the United States and around the world, the Pastel Society of the West Coast offers a strong voice for expanding the presence of soft pastel as a major fine art painting medium. PSWCwas organized in 1984 to promote pastel artists and the soft pastel medium. Today, PSWC is among the most recognized pastel societies.
BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP
PSWC provides social media channels for pastel education, communication, and exposure for members.
PSWC sponsors two annual juried exhibitions: the PASTELS USA open exhibition to showcase award-winning pastel artwork in public venues and the MEMBERS ONLY ONLINE SHOW (MOOS)
We provide optional, individual Members Art Gallery pages connected to our Member Directory.
PSWC sponsors an Art Scholarship for qualifying students interested in the further study of art and pursuing an art career.
Because PSWC is a member of IAPs, our members automatically become IAPS artist members and are eligible for IAPS juried exhibitions at prestigious galleries and on the web, as well as participation in the IAPS Convention at discount rates.
The Pastel Society of the West Coast is incorporated as a non-profit organization. The PSWC is run completely by volunteer Board Members. Endowments and bequests are welcome; please contact our President.
Note: Artwork featured on the website is from artists who entered recent shows. Please see show art by clicking the Current Shows or Past Shows tabs at the top of the pageto see titles and artists.
Pastels USA: 99 Voices in Pastel will be open August 31, 2023 to October 29, 2023 at the Haggin Museum in Stockton, California. The Awards Ceremony and Reception will be on September 9, 2023 from 2pm to 4pm. Join us and meet the artists!
The 37th Annual International Exhibition of PASTELS USA: 99 Voices in Pastel is officially judged and complete. We applaud every artist who was accepted, and we congratulate every artist who won an award. It was a tough year, but the spirit of these artists embody what it means to see good in the world and have faith in humanity.
Exhibitions like this take a village, as the saying goes. We are fortunate to have amazing volunteers who grab hold of a project and make it happen. President Pamela Comfort kept us on track throughout the process. Francesca Droll handled Ways and Means and corresponded with our donors and sponsors, who make so much of this possible. Jennifer Von Bergen managed our social media. Jerry Boyd collected all the shipped art and got it to the Haggin Museum, and he will also get it back to the artists safe and sound. Andrea Dompe of the Haggin Museum and her crew did an amazing job of getting everything gathered and hung—Thank You! Finally, our deep gratitude to our jurors, Marcia Holmes, Tony Alain, and Cuong Nguyen for the awesome job they did in assessing the entries, and to Mary Platt for her expert judging and commentary on the top five pieces.
This year’s show was managed by three long time members of the PSWC Board, Sabrina Hill (Vice President), W. Truman Hosner (Museum Liaison), and Dug Waggoner (MOOS Chairman). Our show would not go on if it weren’t for the technically talented Austin Hambly of Show Submit, who does all the internet intricacies, sets up juror and judging panels and tracks the entries. Thank you team!
Best in Show – Daniel E. Greene Memorial Award
Browsing by Bithia Bjurman Lake Oswego, Oregon
Plein Air Magazine Award
Elphaba and Nessarose with Nikko (Before Oz) by Sharon Pomales Tousey Rancho Palos Verdes, California
1st Place Contemporary Realism Duane Wakeham/Richard Sutherland Award
Shower Door by Sally Strand, PSWC-DP Capistrano Beach, California
1st Place Contemporary Impressionism Duane Wakeham/Richard Sutherland
Baby, It’s Cold Outside by Kim Lordier, PSWC-DP Millbrae, California
1st Place Modern/Experimental Past Presidents Award-Susan Goodmundson and Sabrina Hill in Memory of Ruth Cabrera
Over the Falls by Ellen Gust, PSWC Palo Alto, California
2nd Place Contemporary Realism Royal Talens/PSWC Award
No Place to Be But Here by Carol Peebles New Orleans, Louisiana
2nd Place Contemporary Impressionism FASO/Bold Brush/PSWC Award
Taking Flight by Jill Storey Boise, Idaho
2nd Place Modern/Experimental Dakota Art/PSWC Award
Garden Impression by Debora Stewart Clinton, Iowa
3rd Place Contemporary Realism President’s Award-Pamela Comfort
Everything Past and Present by W. Truman Hosner, PSWC-DP Ferndale, Michigan
3rd Place Contemporary Impressionism Pastel Painters Society of Cape Cod Award
Family Fun by Glen Maxion San Diego, California
3rd Place Modern/Experimental Mark and Elisabeth Sarrow Award
Tapestry by Patti Arbino Northridge, California
Jack Richeson Award
The Shop Down in Nassau Town by Gerald Boyd, PSWC-PL Galt, California
Terry Ludwig Pastels Award
Vintage Marbles by Nanette Catigbe Fairfax, Virginia
Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff Award
Sunset Stroll at Crescent Beach by Donna Catotti, PSWC Haines, Alaska
Bonnie Zahn Griffith Award
Thinking Pattern by Alex Kasyan Montreal, Canada
HK Holbein Award
Basking in Dusk by Terry Ford, PSWC-DP San Jose, California
Pastel Society of America Award
Artichokes by BF Reed, PSWC Jacksonville, North Carolina
Waif Mullins Award
Beyond by Christina Williams Daly City, California
Blick Art Supplies Award
Emergence by Jim Tyler PSWC-DP San Luis Obispo, California
Connecticut Pastel Society Award
Monterey Twilight by Clark Mitchell, PSWC-DP Cotati, California
Show Submit Award
Girl With Pierced Earring by Laura Mocnik Flat Rock, Michigan
Jerry’s Artarama Award
The Dress Shop by Susan Kuznitsky Portland, Oregon
Golden Peak Media Award
Capt. Garland by Jay DeChesere Wilmington, North Carolina
Armadillo Art & Craft Award
Strut by Nancie King Mertz, PSWC-DP Rockford, Illinois
Ampersand Art Supply and Diane Townsend Award
Sundowners by Pat Aragon Stoddard New Castle, California
Airfloat Systems Award
Enduring Blooms by TaiMing Lim, PSWC Beranang, Selangor, Malaysia
Golden Artist Colors/Pan Pastels Award
Wired by Anne Spivey Atlanta, Georgia
Pat Aragon Stoddard Award
Dry Dock by Matt Lister, PSWC-DP El Dorado Hills, California
Rita Kirkman Award
Badlands by John Sherry Bend, Oregon
Roland Miller Award
Contra Costa Twilight by Marsha Dalmas Berkeley, California
Jean Vineyard Myers Award
Sphinx by John Plishka Lindhurst, Illinois
Deborah Pepin Award
Roaring Camp Forest Train by Marie Gonzales, PSWC Folsom, California
Tamra Sanchez Award
Flash Mob by Mike Kolasinski Chicago, Illinois.
Accepted Entries
Refreshing Stroll by Robin Diane Angelides Santa Monica, California
Clothed in Strength by Mary Aslin, PSWC-DP San Juan Capistrano, California
Athabasca Falls by Marcia A. Ballowe Great Falls, Montana
The Joy of the Islands by Steve Bennett PSWC Jacksonville, Oregon
Quiet Thoughts by Darlene Bigus-Doheny New Orleans, Louisiana
Go Big or Go Home by Jennifer Blackburn San Rafael, California
Circus by Johanne Boisvert Notre-Dame-de-Pontmain, Québec, Canada
Yosemite by Diane Sauble Breuer, PSWC Fresno, California
Perfect Ending by Joan Brewster Aberdeen, Washington
Yellow Radiance by Stephanie Brown Philadelphia, Pennsylvanian
C’est Si Bon à Paris by Dawn Buckingham Orange, California
Quiet Evening by Pamela J. Cook Leland, North Carolina
Reaching the Sea by Keith Demanche Rochester, New Hampshire
My Little Man by Kathy Despot Bridgeport, Connecticut
Voluptuary by Kathe Knight Drake Edina, Minnesota
An Evening Gift by Francesca Droll Bigfork, Montana
Jimmy by Merrilyn Duzy, PSWC West Hills, California
Viewpoint by Linda G Evans Brookings, Oregon
Morning Arrives by Diane Fechenbach, PSWC-DP Highlands Ranch, Colorado
Summer Path by Ted Fuka Mokena, Illinois
Girl In Window by Jeri Greenberg, PSWC Leland, North Carolina
Minus Ten Degrees by Bonnie Zahn Griffith PSWC-DP Meridian, Idaho
Beaver Tail Still Life 2 by Larry G. Hemmerich Thousand Palms, California
Morning Meditation by Kelly Ann Hine Santa Ynez, California
Tiny On Stripes by Karen Horne, PSWC Salt Lake City, Utah
Summer Breeze by Catherine Howe Hopkinton, Massachusetts
Shrimp by Hsiu-Min Hung Kaohsiung, Taiwan
High Sierra Mountain Glow by Lucinda Johnson Roseville, California
Devereux Slough Morning by Virginia Kamhi, PSWC Thousand Oaks, California
Spring Rush by Allison Krajcik North Easton, Massachusetts
Bouganvilla at Casa Del Prado by Anne Kullaf Boulder, Colorado
Exuberance by Carmen Lamp Westlake Village, California
Long Tall Eucalyptus by Margaret Larlham San Diego, California
Summer Oasis by Shuk Susan Lee, PSWC Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts
Lily by Judith Kazdym Leeds, PSWC-DP Montville, New Jersey
Bean Hollow Beach by Tatiana Mahkt San Jose, California
Hong Kong Boat by Andrew McDermott, PSWC Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Evening Glow by Eveline Miller, PSWC Beaufort, South Carolina
Tumble by Jan Y Miller, PSWC Roseville, California
November Reflections by Karen A Miller, PSWC Healdsburg, California
Golden Slough by Linda Louis Mutti, PSWC Santa Barbara, California
Step Up by Nancy O’Hara Germantown, New York
Geometrica by Janet Patterson Ashland, Oregon
Morning Glory by Deborah Pepin, PSWC Sanger, California
Carrizo Backroad by Erika Perloff, PSWC Santa Cruz, California
Golden Moment by Sandra Place, PSWC Santa Fe, New Mexico
Saturated by Peggy Davidson Post, PSWC Pebble Beach, California
Long Distance by Patricia Prendergast Sacramento, California
Swan Story by Barbara Reich, PSWC-DP Traverse City, Michigan
Monterey Morning Glow by Natalie Richards San Bernardino, California
Synchronicity by Carole Rogers Little Silver, New Jersey
Brushed With Gold by Sarah Rose Bayfield, Colorado
Crystal Springs by Teresa Ruzzo, PSWC Mountain View, California
Slice of Orange by Cheri Saffro, PSWC Highland Park, Illinois
River Rush by Tamra Sanchez, PSWC Santa Rosa, California
Winter Color by Ann Sanders, PSWC Goleta, California
Imperious by William Schneider, PSWC Naples, Florida
Loki’s Feather by Kathleen E Shy Reno, Nevada
Lavender Bee by Teresa A Steinbach-Garcia Wilton, California
Sunset Reflection by Carol Strock Wasson Union City, Indiana
Tilted by Vianna Szabo, PSWC Romeo, Michigan
Range #1 by Carol Talley, PSWC Santa Barbara, California
Poser by Donna Theresa, PSWC Aptos, California
Mariachi Singer by Nori M Thorne, PSWC Sedona, Arizona
St Lawrence Revisited by Dug Waggoner, PSWC-DP El Cerrito, California
Crack of Light in the Treeline by Avon Waters Converse, Indiana
