Category Archives: pastel

A Very Special Commissioned Portrait, and a Review from the Recipient

I painted a very special portrait recently, special because it was commissioned as a gift for a friend’s significant birthday, a friend who I know as well, and because it was to include all the cats with whom she had shared her life to date AND include the red maple outside the window seen in […]

The Sense of a Summer Field

"Summer Field", pastel, 10" x 12" © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

It’s not about the trees and grass and sky, it’s not about what you can see, it’s about what you can’t see–the hush of a hilltop field on a summer afternoon, the whisper of a breeze as it cools your sun-warmed skin, rustles through the tall grass which ripples like waves, one bird whistling, the […]

Dusk After the Storm, Canoeing on a Local Creek

Dusk After the Storm, 9 x 12, pastel © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

A storm overtook us as we paddled canoes and kayaks down Chartiers Creek one July evening. We took out and watched it from among trees on the bank as the world turned black then fogged with rain, lightning struck just over the hills around us and the creek ran faster and faster and rose foot […]

Facades, North Side Pittsburgh

This row of ancient buildings has been looking over the city of Pittsburgh for well over 100 years, and each owner through time has had their way with each facade. On a bright sunny summer day they stood unapologetic for crumbling insul-brick siding, replacement windows that didn’t fit the original opening, and grass growing where […]

Keeping Cool on a Hot Summer Afternoon

"The Swimming Hole", pastel, 17 x 8, 2014 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

On a hot summer afternoon out on the trail, there is nothing more refreshing to me than wading into the deeper area of a stream and cooling off. This painting was actually visualized during one of the visits with my great nieces and nephews and I knew I’d have to paint it, but it came […]

Five More Days, 25% Discount on Spring Art Originals

April Cloud Study, pastel, 9 x 9, 2013 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

The summer solstice is five days away, and the 25% discount on spring artwork will end. Nearly every painting in this group is $100 or less so you can cover a wall with spring for very little. Each season when I publish my Nature & Wildlife newsletter I extend a 25% discount on all original […]

Choosing Art to Submit to a Group Show

The deadline is tonight at midnight to electronically submit to an international exhibit and it’s always so hard to narrow down choices. In this case the maximum to submit is three, but I’ve still got more than that on my list and only hours to go. I am not a member of the Pastel Society […]

Something About a Rainy Night

Rainy Violet Sunset, pastel on black Canson paper, 9" x 12" © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

I love rainy dark streets with reflections on the wet pavement, and streetlights shining up the faces of buildings. This one, however, was all about that tall violet sky making the buildings and hills beyond look small, the clouds breaking apart after the sun had set, leaving a red glow in the clouds on the […]

June Nature Desktop Calendar: Sunset Cruise

Desktop calendar, 1280 x 1024 for square and laptop monitors.

I took the reference photo for this in 2005. It’s been waiting 12 years to be painted. It was indeed a sunset cruise…down Chartiers Creek on a perfect July evening. Not only the delicate light on the nearly still water and the clear sky gradating up to deep blue, but the curve of the hills […]

My Sketching Hat With Wildflowers, Spring Art on Sale

Hat With Wildflowers, pastel, 5.5″ x 8.5″, 2013 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski Kind of sweet and sentimental and actually the last sketch I did on my roundabout trip to the grocery store with pastels and camera. When I came home and parked my bike to unpack it, I untied the bunch of wildflowers I’d gathered […]