I am delighted to report that since I have just gotten my fifth painting juried into the elite IAPS Pastel World Show, I will now receive “Master Pastellist” status. This puts me in the upper echelons of pastellists globally, and was a bucket list item for me.

I am not allowed yet to share the painting that got in for this new show in June, but you’ve already seen it on this blog. I’ll mail that painting to this amazing show in Albuquerque, but won’t be there to see it hang, as I am prioritizing trips to Maine this summer, and an international trip with our older daughter this fall. I will have plenty of friends and colleagues present, however, to take photos of the show for you, when the time comes.  Eventually, I will be sent a medal, and I’ll share that with you too.

This achievement is particularly noteworthy for me, since it was done completely with abstract images, and the pastel world is still very steeped in representation. Most of the current Master Pastellists that are painting abstraction, first gained that status painting representationally, and then turned to abstraction afterwards. I doggedly refused to go that route, desiring to be known for my abstract work. That approach may have been slower, but here we are.

I’m grateful to have achieved this benchmark, even though I don’t look externally for my validation. I find it very encouraging, especially as I launch myself into some other goals right now. And I do so LOVE the medium of pastel!