CUSHING — Arts In The Barn/ Cushing Historical Society presents “Pastels: A Convergence of Styles” which will display the work of 5 artists working with pastels in a variety of ways.

“Ann O’Hara, Heather Spencer, Chris Essler, Mary Beth Morrison and Laura Beckering bring professional skills using different approaches to the medium and creating beautiful effects,” said Arts in the Barn, in a news release.

Ann O’Hara says: “From my first stroke of solid pigment pastel on textured paper, I was hooked. The medium of soft pastels is totally appealing to me as an artist. Spontaneity, bold and vibrant color, and the options of smooth or textured strokes, blending or layering are all good things. Pastels are very forgiving...important in painting and in life.”

Heather Spencer admits that her love of drawing and art began in elementary school and eventually she graduated with a BFA concentrating on Interior Design from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1996. Later, when raising her son at home she picked up art again more seriously and says that “years of creating portraits of children and pets in graphite pencil soon followed. Recently, I have transitioned into working with color through the use of pastels.” Spencer has discovered pastel pencils, which gives her the ability to show detail and photo realistic imagery.

Chris Essler says “I was painting in oil for 10 years when I saw an ad in our local paper for a pet portrait class (in pastels). Once (the color is) matched, the pastel moves magically across the paper with an intimacy you don’t get holding a 12 inch brush. It’s just the pastel and you.” Essler has studied extensively under Caleb Stone of Rockport, Massachusetts, and Alain Picard of Southbury, Connecticut.

Mary Beth Morrison also started in other mediums, where she says “ I began seriously painting in watercolor, expanding to acrylics, soft plate printing, and soft pastels, which I favor because of their immediacy, pure color, and ease of use. Landscape images geographic and internal call to me. I render ideas with abstractly, and impressionistically.” Morrison has participated in art collaboration, gallery sharing, teaching classes and workshops  for 40 years. Currently she serves as the president of the Pastel Society of Maine.

Laura F. Beckering derives much of her inspiration from her gardens and their yearly cycle. “Photography, plein-air and life drawing provide me with lots of raw material for my pastel painting, whether its focus is on florals, portraiture or a simple landscape. I am always looking... from the smallest detail to the arc of the larger world.”

In “Pastels: A Convergence of Styles” there will be the coming together of all these approaches and backgrounds. The contrasts and the similarities will be evident in these artists’ works using the vivid colors of the medium and various techniques deployed. As Mary Beth Morrison says of this show, “one sees each artist’s unique signature in choosing composition, using pressure, types of marks made, thick and thin, colors chosen, layering of those colors. It is a delight to share in the painting journey” with others. 

Event Dates:

Opening Celebration: July 19, 5-7pm, refreshments are served.

Hours on Saturday and Sunday: 10-4pm, the artists will be present to answer any questions you may have.

Demonstrations of pastel techniques: Saturday and Sunday, 11-1pm, Ann O’Hara will give the demo on Saturday and Mary Beth Morrison will be on Sunday.

Event Location:

Arts In The Barn, 17 Hathorne Point Road in beautiful Cushing. It is a mile before the Olson House of Andrew Wyeth fame.

Arts in the Barn/Cushing Historical Society, located at 17 Hathorne Point Road in Cushing, Maine, is a 501c3 nonprofit organization, supporting and educating about our cultural heritage and highlighting persons of interest in our community. For more information, please visit artsinthebarncushing.org Or, visit the Cushing Historical Society’s website at: https://cushingmainehistoricalsociety.org/