Contributors
Deborah Bays’s favorite medium is pastel. Her work has been featured in Southwest Art, Colorado Expression, The Artist’s Magazine and The Pastel Journal. She received a grand prize award in the 2004 Pastel 100, and the first place award for still life in the 22nd Annual Art Competition of The Artist’s Magazine. Her work is also included in Pure Color: The Best of Pastel, edited by Maureen Bloomfield and James A. Markle (North Light Books, 2006). Bays is represented by galleries on both coasts as well as in Colorado, and Somerset House Publishing is currently offering selected Bays paintings reproduced as fine art prints.
Greg Biolchini, Pastel Society of America Master Pastelist, has been featured in nationally published books and magazines including Pure Color: The Best of Pastel, edited by Maureen Bloomfield and James A. Markle (North Light Books, 2006) and The Pastel Journal. His pastel paintings are in corporate, university and museum collections and have received honors and awards in many national shows. Biolchini teaches painting workshops for art groups nationwide. View more of his work at www.biolchini.com.
Thomas DeCleene graduated with a bachelor’s degree in fine art from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee after spending four years in the U.S. Air Force as an illustrator. Thirty-plus years were spent in graphic arts, primarily as a color artist, before he was able to pursue fine art on a fulltime basis. In recent years he has found success in both regional and national competitions, received numerous awards and been published in both The Pastel Journal and The Artist’s Magazine.
Near Dawson
12" × 18" (30cm × 46cm) by Tom DeCleene
Sam Goodsell has been painting seriously since childhood. He attended the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan, New York, followed by years at the Art Students League in New York. His work drew national attention when he won Best of Show in the Pastel 100 competition with a lengthy feature published in March 2003. Since then he has continued to exhibit his work and win awards and teaches an occasional workshop along with regular classes at the Pastel Society of America facility in New York City.
Bill Hosner earned his BFA at Wayne State University and studied illustration at the Center for the Creative Studies, College of Art and Design. For seventeen years he worked as an illustrator, achieved national recognition and was honored with many accolades and awards in advertising art. At the peak of a successful career, he left the commercial art world to focus on fine art. He studied with Harley Brown and Dan Gerhartz and developed a keen interest in plein air painting and painting figures from life. Since then his work has received national recognition, winning numerous awards in exhibitions and being selected for inclusion in publications. View more of his work at www.WilliamHosnerFineArt.com.
Richard McKinley has been a professional working artist for thirty-five years and has more than thirty years of teaching experience. He is a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America and the Northwest Pastel Society; a Signature Distinguished Pastelist with the Pastel Society of the West Coast; Signature Master Pastelist, Pastel Society of Oregon; and a member of the Oil Painters of America. He writes frequently for The Pastel Journal, and his work has been included in A Painter’s Guide to Design and Composition (North Light Books, 2006), by Margot Schulzke, and Pure Color: The Best of Pastel, edited by Maureen Bloomfield and James A. Markle (North Light Books, 2006). View more of his work at www.mckinleystudio.com.
Eye of Dawn
11.5" × 17.5" (29cm × 44cm) by Ruth Summer
Desmond O’Hagan is a Master Pastelist with the Pastel Society of America. In 2005, he was inducted into the first “Masters Circle” of the International Association of Pastel Societies. His work has been featured in magazines including The Artist’s Magazine, The Pastel Journal, International Artist, United Airlines’ Hemispheres magazine, and Gekkan Bijyutsu (Japan). O’Hagan’s art is in public and private collections in the United States, Japan, Canada and Europe. View more of his work at www.desmondohagan.com
Deborah Christensen Secor has always focused on drawing and painting, but in 1986 she began using pastels exclusively. This led to significant developments in her professional life, from success in galleries to teaching pastel painting, from the inception of The Pastel Society of New Mexico to writing for The Pastel Journal. Her work is featured in Pure Color: The Best of Pastel, edited by Maureen Bloomfield and James A. Markle (North Light Books, 2006). She continues to paint, teach and write about art, always finding new artistic challenges. View more of her work at www.DeborahChristensen.com.
Ruth Summer has been painting for many years and working mostly in pastel for the last ten years. She was the associate editor of The Pastel Journal from 1999–2002 and wrote extensively for the magazine for several years. She is currently traveling and painting in Europe.