Oils and Pastels by Margaret Dyer

This 8x10 pastel is available on Daily Paintworks. Click on the link below to view auction. http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/414848

  I am told by Kippy that there is room for one other person in my workshop in France next month (August 21-September  5,  www.labonneetoile.com/workshops/Dyer2015.pdf ). Kathryn Nichols, who was to assist Kippy during the class, has decided to get married instead. Congratulations, Kathryn!  But that opens up space for one more person in the class. I know this is late notice, as the workshop begins August 21, but some, who may have frequent flyer miles, might be able to swing it. If you want to hear more about it, contact Kippy at  kristina@labonneetoile.com .  You can also check out my blog posts from my workshop during previous years in France by going to June posts. You can go back as far as 5 years to see what we've been doing every summer. If you're able to do this, we would love to have you join us. About the pastel here, ​Leonardo was always above me. He was on the rafters in my loft. He was on the top of the kitchen cabinets. When he was on t...

A few years ago I had the honor of teaching a workshop and doing a demonstration at IAPS, The International Association of Pastel Societies, in Albuquerque, NM. For my workshop I hired a model and told all my students to bring their cameras. We spent a little less than an hour following this model around as she sat in different conversation pits throughout the hotel lobby, folding the colorful fabric I brought to the class. This is from that photo shoot. I've been going though my older photos and doing some quick sketches. I have discovered that when I go to older photos in my files, I'm inspired by the ones that didn't interest me originally, the ones I almost threw away. What happens in the months or years that pass that causes me to see things differently? It's always a source of surprise to go back to old photos. I'm so glad I've  held on to them. Albuquerque Model is an 8x10 pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord, available at auction on Daily Paintworks .

If you've been following my blog for any length of time, you've probably already seen this pastel several times. I'm posting it again because it is on its way to the Pastel Society of Eastern Canada in Montreal (PSEC) for its International Juried Exhibition in honor of PSEC's 20th Anniversary. Reine Goodrow, who recently stepped down after four years as PSEC President, sent me this lovely email: I would like to have you be part of our celebrations. Our show  will contain 100 pastel works, as usual, but a dream of mine is for that show to have one work from each of the American Masters who has honored our Society in the past by coming to Montreal to give a workshop; to have  a wall of American Masters  for all of our members to be inspired by and by which to remember you all. It would be a thrill for our Society to be able to show-case the excellence of the medium in that way...  Our show receives as many as 2000 visitors, and seeing a collection of America...

This is Leonardo about to investigate the interior of a bag. Leonardo is a beautiful cat but I'm glad he lives with my daughter. I kept him and his brother for a year and could have made a living selling stuffed pillows with all the hair they shed. I had to travel with a lint brush. Cat hair was omnipresent. Never again. Only short-haired cats for me. "Leonardo" is an 10x8 pastel up for auction on Daily Paintworks. Bidding begins at $200. Go here to view auction:  http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/412121

When I moved into this house in the southwest section of metropolitan Atlanta a little over 2 years ago, it wasn't the house that grabbed me. The house was old – and I love old – but it lacked the character I was hoping for. I was hoping for the built-in cabinetry and 3 over 1 windows of a Craftsmen bungalow; this one was more of a farm house. The floors were painted a depressing dark brown, the walls a depressing dark tan, the layout of the house was confusing, there had been no modernization for what looked to me like at least 50 years. But when I made my way to the back door and looked out onto the generous, sunlit back yard with fig trees and a pear tree, all I could say was, "I could have chickens here." That was probably 80% of the reason I said, "I'll take it." I haven't given up on the chicken dream; I just travel too much right now. But this past weekend I joined 20 something neighbors, meeting most of them for the first time, on the East Poin...

Rosaria posed for my class this past May in Florence, Italy. She didn't speak a word of English; we didn't speak a word of Italian. But we understood each other nevertheless. Most of the time. She was so lovely. I hope to have her pose for us again in my class next year. Florence, anybody? If you're interested in hearing more when dates are definite, contact Debra Zamperla ( idzamperla@gmail.com)  and tell her you want to be on her mailing list for my class. If you're not following my blog, check out my May 2015 posts ( http://margaretdyer.blogspot.com/2015/05/our-home-for-next-2-weeks.html ) to read about my Florence workshop and excursions. I drew "Rosaria" during class. It is a 12.5x15.5 pastel on Sennelier LaCarte paper,  up for auction on Daily PaintWorks.com  dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/408729 .

Ann poses for my classes sometimes. During this particular class I had her fold fabric as my students and I photographed her. I love working with Ann; she is naturally graceful, and everything she does can make a beautiful painting. This is an 11x14 pastel on Pastelbord, available for auction on DailyPaintworks.com.   http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/408708

A quick sketch during class in Florence this past spring. Available at auction on DailyPaintworks. http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/408155

This is a model from my workshop for the Pastel Society of the Southwest, in Grapevine, TX, November, 2014. The workshop studio was a large room above a fancy furniture store. We were given permission to set up a photo shoot in the furniture store below.  We broke up into several groups and took turns going downstairs with our cameras to photograph this lovely model.   I set up the lighting and had the model move continually so we could have natural rather than stiff formal poses. There were countless beautiful photos to work from in the studio the next day. This is one of my resulting oil sketches. This is a 12x16 oil on unstretched canvas. It will need to be mounted and framed. It is up for auction on DailyPaintworks.com. Bidding begins at @200. Click on the title above or cut and paste:  http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/406563

This is Kathleen, a beautiful young lady who assisted during my workshop at La Bonne Etoile in Fontaine-Fourches, France, summer, 2014. She posed for my class (and folded laundry at the same time) on a warm sunny day. It's an 11x14 pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord, ready for framing. Bidding at DailyPaintworks begins at $200. To view auction, click here:  http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/406557