Landscape Painting in Pastels: Thanks...

Friday, December 16, 2011

Thanks...

I just wanted to post my gratitude for the many well wishes and thanks I've received for the book.

It was a "labor of love", first from the standpoint of one who loves this vibrant and lively medium, and loves teaching others a few of the things I've learned about how to paint the landscape, but mostly out of love for Christ, who gave me a modicum of talent and provided me with the opportunities to explore and enjoy using pastels. It was His example that showed me so clearly that I wasn't to hold out, hold back or expect to gain income from the book, but that in giving it away I would gain more than I could ever expect otherwise. The truth of that is difficult to prove, but it's real nonetheless. Your thanks are truly appreciated.

Although due to family needs I have few chances to spend time in my pastel studio, I continue to teach classes once a week with a devoted group of students, and I pursue painting in gouache on my little dining room table. My mind roves over the landscape and technical areas I haven't yet explored in this book, and as a result I have several additional chapters brewing. I sincerely hope to write them and post them here as an appendix, of sorts.

If you have a question or idea you would like answered, or would like to propose an additional area of study in the landscape as its painted in pastels, I welcome your thoughts. Please understand that for the present I'm not in the process of writing, but as I teach and post on Today's Art Class blog, much of what I hope to write is beginning to coalesce.

And in the nearer future, I hope to begin offering online workshops in the landscape in pastel. Look for that to come to fruition in 2011 sometime. I'll post opportunities here as they arise, but if it's something you're interested in doing and you have a particular subject you'd like to explore (i.e. sunsets, reflections, snow, night, etc.) send an email to me at d.d.secor(at)gmail(dot)com and I'll add you to my mailing list.

If this is your first visit here, please page through the Table of Contents Links in the sidebar. If you're new to pastels, you might want to start at the beginning and explore the possibilities in order. Perhaps you're struggling with a particular subject and stumbled upon the information using an Internet search. Either way, I hope what you find here is of help and interest to you.

Every student is a blessing to me. Teaching is a delight, and freely sharing even more so.
Deborah

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Thanks for your comment on Painting the Landscape in Pastels ~Deborah

A GIFT

I contemplated selling this book, but in the final analysis I decided that it was better to give. Jesus tells us, "Freely you have received, freely give." So I will. I hope you enjoy and benefit from it.

I'm a Christian, a Jesus follower. He gave His life away for the greatest reason possible: so everyone could understand that we can have eternal life. As a follower, I give my life away freely, too, though not like He did (since I'm obviously not God.) My firm belief is that...God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners....For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

A disciple becomes like the one she follows, and one day I realized that about the neatest way I could give my 'life' away was to give this book away to anyone who wanted to read it! But I couldn't afford to print it and send it out, so doing it online was the best way--on a blog it could be freely given. Jesus said, "Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be." Heart follows treasure... My treasure is Jesus!

With my blessings,
~Deborah

Maybe you know that God loves you, but you also realize that you’ve done things that are wrong—you’ve sinned. That sin separates you from God. Out of His great love He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die as the sacrifice to pay for your sins. His resurrection is the ultimate evidence of eternal life. When you recognize your need and want to begin to live as a new creation, you can ask Jesus to be your Savior and Lord in prayer. There's no hocus-pocus here, just the reality of faith and new life in Christ. That is the real gift here!

MAKING COPIES

This book is not available in traditional print form. It is now available in PDF format, which should make it easy for you to print ONE copy for your personal use.

You may also use one of the eBook platforms (such as www.bloxp.com) to make a one-off eBook, which may be downloaded in any electronic format you wish for your own personal use.

Please don't copy and post it online anywhere without my express, written permission. (debsecor (at sign) gmail (dot) come) Instead, please use a link to the chapter you want to share. Thanks so much for understanding.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank Maggie Price for her help in conceiving and executing this as a workbook beginning back in 1993, and for encouraging and fostering my writing ability. I learned tremendous amounts writing under your guidance for the first five years of The Pastel Journal’s existence, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity you first gave me to begin writing professionally.

F+W Publications originally published several of these chapters as articles featured in The Pastel Journal, although many of them have since been further edited as I’ve discovered more about the subjects. I especially want to thank editors Maureen Bloomfield and Anne Hevener, each of whom has helped me along the way, as well as the entire staff of editors that have consistently corrected and improved on what I've written.

Many thanks to Philip Van Hulle for editing these pages. I’ve learned over the years that a good editor works hard to make the author look better than she is.

The people who have passed through my classrooms for over 20 years have acted as the catalyst for this book, constantly seeking to understand more, consistently asking excellent and engaging questions that required me to find the bottom line, and providing the enjoyment of watching them journey along the pastel pathway. I meant it every time I said, “It’s looking good. Keep going!”

A special thanks to my Thursday art gang who have kept coming back for many years of fun, work and growth. Some have come and gone, but you all know who you are. It’s a privilege to teach such a talented group. I couldn’t do it without you. You always make ME look good!

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Friday, December 16, 2011

Thanks...

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