Invited to demonstrate and lecture!
Sponsored by the Tucson Pastel Society (TPS), this event will be held in the TPS Art Center in Tucson, Arizona. It is open to the general public and members of the guild. Admission is at no charge.
Join us for an interactive demonstration! We'll cover Edgar Degas (1834 - 1917), a master pastelist during the late 19th century. It's well known that between 1874 and 1886, Degas participated in seven shows, now known as the infamous Impressionist Exhibitions.
However, what is less known is that Degas used monoprints as the underpainting for his pastels! Monoprints have a unique aesthetic, using a painterly process that does not require a large printing press or expensive materials. Try some of Degas' techniques. You'll be amazed by its simplicity and perhaps make a few discoveries yourself!
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| Before We Could Vote. 11x14. Pastel on sanded paper by Christy Olsen. |
November 15, 2023 (2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.)
The Tucson Pastel Society (TPS) is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization established to advocate and promote the pastel medium and have fun doing art in the communities it serves. TPS is an active and vital art organization for pastel artists to flourish, fostering the skills and camaraderie of its members while encouraging community awareness of dry pastel fine art by offering exhibitions and events. For more information, visit the Tuscon Pastel Society.org.
TPS Art Center
2447 N. Los Altos Ave. Tucson, Arizona 85705
Post Event
TPS Newsletter included the following review of this event.
November Meeting
Review by Ellen Cholski, published by TPS, Vol. 9, December 2023. p. 1.
Christy Olsen was the guest speaker for our November meeting. She is a noted Tucson pastelist who is our vice president, a teacher at the Art Verve Academy, and an engineer with Raytheon. She has a B.A. degree in Art History and Anthropology as well as a B.S. in Computer Science.
All about Degas was the title of her interactive presentation. Edgar Degas was a French impressionist famous for his pastel and oil paintings, especially of dancers. He was also an avid user of monoprints in his paintings. While showing examples of his work, Christy shared that these monoprints helped him be painterly and loose.
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| During the demonstration |
Monoprints or monotypes create an image that can only be printed once with sometimes one additional ghost image. Christy demonstrated how to make a monoprint. She uses Akua ink because it dries quickly and prefers Strathmore printmaking paper. First, she placed ink on a glass pane and then rolled the ink smooth with a brayer. Then she drew in the ink with her finger covered with a baby wipe and mentioned how a variety of devices could be used to make a design. Once she had her desired design, she placed paper over it and pressed the paper with a clean brayer to make the monoprint. This is printing without a press.
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| During the demonstration |
Christy enjoys responsive drawing on paper that already has a design. Sometimes instead of a monoprint, she will use an inked brayer to make the marks for her background. Her advice was not to be meticulous and always experiment to make new discoveries. At the end of her presentation, we had the opportunity to either make a monoprint or paint on an already prepared monoprint. Thank you, Christy.
