An Art Journey: at Walter Jones

Saturday, February 06, 2016

at Walter Jones

There were six of us who met this morning at Walter Jones Historical Park in Mandarin for the First Coast Pastel Society's plein air day. It was overcast and raw, but it was fun to be together anyway. I did this on an 8x10 Ampersand pastel board, a nice plein air surface. I used my Holbein oil pastels again, and they worked on this surface far better than they had on the Richeson surface, no extensive finger blending required. The Holbein set does not have very good colors for realistic plein air, so that allowed me to be a little crazy. Most of the actual colors were pretty flat and gray, so it was fun to use some of the more vibrant Holbein colors instead.

To see what other folks did this morning you can check out our blog at:
http://www.firstcoastpastelsociety.com/2016/02/hardy-souls-at-walter-jones-historical.html

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ABOUT ME

: Name:Debbie Cusick; Location:NE Florida, United States

Debbie has loved nature and drawing since early childhood, and spent a lot of time drawing and coloring - mostly animals, and visiting art museums, encouraged by an artistic and nature-loving mother. At age 11 she won an art scholarship of a year’s free lessons at the Montclair Art Museum.

But Debbie veered away from art in her teen years. Her interests lay in more classical drawing, and more representational interpretations, all of which were totally out of vogue, and totally untaught, in those teen years. In her 20s she turned to quilting, and spent many years making quilts, primarily her own original designs.

But she still missed drawing, painting, and the fine arts, and in 2005 began to pursue this passion again. She discovered pastels and finally found an art medium she could love.

From 2005-2011 she continued to take lessons with Master Pastelists – first Alex Piccarillo at the Montclair Art Museum (Life drawing, figurative art) and later with Christina Debarry (still lifes and landscapes) at her home studio. Debbie owes a huge debt of gratitude to both Alex and Christina, to their fine teaching skills and warm personalities.

Debbie is a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of New Jersey, and served as their 2^nd Vice President and Exhibitions Chair. In 2011 Debbie moved to northeast Florida where she just completed a 2-year term as President of the Art Guild of Orange Park, is a member of the First Coast Plein Air Painters, and also currently serves as the Webmaster of the First Coast Pastel Society , as well as a board member of the St. Johns Audubon chapter.

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