January 19th, 2023

Artist of the Month - January 2023

​Becky Neideffer

End of the Day

9" x 9" 

Soft Pastel

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I cannot remember not drawing. As a child, I was left handed, dyslexic and attended a school with four grades in the same room where individual creative expression was not encouraged. While still in grade school, my sister gave me a Jon Gnagy art kit that contained small tubes of oils and watercolors, drawing supplies and small sticks of pastel along with a book on how to draw by using lines and cross-hatching for shading and modeling.  I still have the book and some of the pieces of that kit.  It opened the world of art for me.
 
I have a strong connection with the landscape so I feel compelled to paint in the outdoors or “en plein air” using pastel because of the vibrancy of the color and I don’t have to wait for pastels to dry. My subjects are often chosen by the play of light and shadow and the patterns created on the landscape. Even though I consider myself a realist, pastel gives me a creative freedom to use loose strokes and leave interpretation to the imagination of the viewer.  
 
I am drawn to Southwest region because I love the environment and the culture. The people, the animals, the flora, the fauna, mountains, boulders and vast blue skies, they all inspire me to paint.