Ann Bennet

The allure of pastel lies, for me, in the sumptuous colors and textures that alter and enrich my perception of the world around me. I am primarily a landscape painter, and I have come to view every scene I observe as a pastel in the making – the sky over the beltway, a rainy puddle, a shaft of sunlight on an old building. Like the Impressionists, with their juxtapositions of colors, I break up reality into its component hues, but unlike their quick impressions, the process of layering pigments is slow and painstaking. But what a joy when the kaleidoscope settles and I have created a new reality where color creates mood and meaning. I particularly enjoy transcribing the appearance, texture, and effect of light on places I have visited. Mount Desert Island, Colorado, Provence, Italy, England, and our own Potomac are featured in my paintings.

Recently I have begun to work on a beeswax surface, which has added a new dimension to my work. In addition to my emphasis on color, my art has become more tactile with the layering of pastels on the variegated ground to create a unifying compositional element.