Joseph Cotes, “Portrait of Joseph and his Brother John Gulston” (1754), pastel on blue paper, mounted on canvas (all photos by the author for Hyperallergic unless otherwise noted) LOS ANGELES — ...

HAMDEN >> The November meeting of the Hamden Art League will feature a demo by Southbury portrait artist Alain Picard titled The Painterly Portrait. Working from the live model, Alain will demonstrate ...

Pastel is a paradoxical medium. It is the most fragile of materials—essentially dust rubbed on a surface (usually paper). It is easily disturbed and impossible to fix without altering its character.

It has been almost 30 years since the National Gallery of Ireland staged a dedicated pastel exhibition. One reason is because works in pastel have to be shown sparingly, to prevent their bright ...