Back to the Figure Back

Figure Back
18" x 24"
Casey Klahn
Vine Charcoal

Everything for me, right now, is process. It might seem obtuse, but even my return to practicing the realist figure feeds my New School Color style.

This is an old sketch I found while moving into my new studio. It provides inspiration for my new directions.

Installation at the Langley Gallery

These pastels are on display now at the Karlson/Gray Gallery in Langley, WA. Langley's Art Walk is tomorrow, Saturday January 5th, 2008, from 5-8PM. Otherwise, my art will be featured through the 30th of January.

Sweden Pastel Visit

Who would Santa see doing pastels if he took a turn over Sweden?

Gabriella Jonsson , of Stockholm, that's who.

Her Blog:
Daily Artwork Gallery

Hark, The Herald Angels Si - ing!

Galerie des Artistes - Sennelier

You may add your own Sennelier based pastels at their website. The link is here.

Sennelier Critique

Blue Branches on Red
14” x 10”
Original Pastel
Casey Klahn

Sennelier Extra-Soft Pastels “à l’écu” have a wide, wide range of colors. 525 current in the line. Go here to see a run down of the types of pastels, their sizes and sets available. I think a friend of mine said that she bought a full set with prize money, once. Other than that, I noticed once that Daniel Greene uses a full set. Personally, I have a hard time seeing myself using a full set, but if Santa is willing...

I know that I have some discontinued ones (high key greens) in my palette. Once, I bought their 100 landscape set when it was being updated with different colors. As soon as it arrived, I broke each stick in half and peeled the wrappers off of the halves that went into use, and stored the remainder in my back-up boxes, by hue and value. Then, I shed a tear at how easily the hundred sticks disappeared into the whole of my collection. I have a hard time finding which ones are actually Sennies.

To get a feeling for this experience, the next time you get home from the grocer, take that new gallon carton of milk and jab it through the bottom with a butcher knife. See? How's that feel?

That's part of a pastel artist's life, though. Ruin the tools; rid yourself of the precious. Now, you might be free to actually create something. It reminds me of this hilarious scene in a World War One movie where Bill Murray is a medic sergeant who gets a spankin' new ambulance donated by school kids from America and the green driver is so proud to arrive at the front lines with this gem. Murray pulls out his revolver and starts shooting out the headlights and blowing holes in the doors. Google reminds me this movie was titled The Razor's Edge, and few others liked it but me. I am so weird.

This over dramatization I bring to you for a reason. Art is wholly about discarding the precious. Who cares if Senneliers crumble a little every now and then? This is the price you pay for very clear ultramarine blues.

I learned something from Lisa Bachman's post about the darks available from Sennelier. I am more prone to establishing big areas of dark, and so I favor the bigger Diane Townsend Terrage sticks. These sticks are so dark, I have a hard time getting them back in their proper place in my palette. Good to know that Sennelier makes dark darks, too.

I reach for the Sennies to establish really bright and pure color passages in my paintings. An example can be seen in this detail from Blue Branches.

Pastel Workshops

Yellow Gesture
18" x 11"
Original Pastel
Casey Klahn
Private Collection

This artwork was rendered during a Diane Townsend workshop on abstract pastels. The yellow gesture is a thin line yellow pastel stick from Diane's own palette. See an essay by me about this painting here.

A pastel workshop can be a huge challenge for the student. I have lost sleep at workshops. There is a kinesthetic struggle that takes place when you have your own ouvre, and then you are challenged to adopt new techniques and subjects. For me, it's like I am literally being skinned alive, and then told to put it back on!

I have only attended 3 pastel workshops: Jennifer Evenhus, Susan Ogilvie and Diane Townsend. They each shined in their own way, although I think you'll notice that I rave about the DT one constantly in my blogs. I try to take one a year, but don't quite reach that goal. As I mature in my career, the workshops need to be more targeted. Family obligations have veto power, too!

I want to highlight workshop evaluations and stories here at Pastel, and I found this post at Making a Mark about Katherine's workshop experience sitting under Sally Strand. Strand is a contemporary expert of the figure and light, IMO. Add to the difficulties listed above, the extra hardships of international travel, and you can respect the effort Katherine put into this workshop.

Time is short, so I won't post a workshop resource. You have Google. I would like to do it sometime, though, since I have my favorite searches.

Note: Stay tuned for my evaluation/review of Sennelier pastels.