color palette of Hiroshige, which
lent itself to painting freshwater
trout. I also studied the mark-
making in the artists’ woodblock
prints. Having an understanding of
the environment in which the fish
live—as well as the fish them-
selves—was also important.”
Of the award-winning painting,
Maimon says, “The artist captured
the essence of the subject in a design
that struck me with its brilliant sim-
plicity. Sometimes, less is more.”
Regarding composition, Strutz
says she plans each painting in this
series on newsprint, creating brayer
drawings using black ink. “One of the
biggest challenges when working with
a brayer in the way I’ve used it here,”
she says, “is to be intentional with the
placement of the brayer marks while
also keeping my arm loose and mov-
ing fluidly, varying pressure but not
breaking the flow of the shape.”
In the Flow is executed on UART
400 paper. “It’s carefully designed,
taking into account the composi-
tion of the fish, the subtlety of the
backgroundwatercolorwashandthe pastel application on top of the
watercolor and brayer work,” the
artist says.
The foundation of the fish is drawn
with water-soluble oil loaded onto
a brayer applied on top of a watercolor
underpainting. Strutz then applied
pastel over the entire piece. She
painted the fish with Terry Ludwig
and Unison pastels, and used Giraults
to create the quiet line work of the
water. Varying the direction and pres-
sure of the lines adds to the fluidity.
“Much of my work features a lot
of energy and fearless mark-making,”
Strutz says. “In the Flow, however,
explores a quieter approach. It
required me to slow down. The fine
line work covering the background of
the painting required a great deal of
patience—and a light hand.”FOURTH PLACE
Cristine Kossow
Cristine Kossow (cristinekossow.
com) has always loved to paint rural
scenes,whichmademovingbacktothe farm country of the Champlain
Valley of Vermont all the more
serendipitous. “I’ve had no problem
finding all of the inspiration I need
right around the corner,” she says.
“I feel so grateful to paint what
I love: animals, farming tools, farm-
scapes and produce. All are subjects
that are happily shared with me by
the farmers and tradespeople whom
I call neighbors.”
One such subject took place last
March, when Kossow attended
an open barn event during lamb-
ing season. “The expectant sheep
were corraled in the same area, and
although they seemed a bit anxious by
the crowds filing by, they also exuded
a sense of calm, as if they had done
this many times,” the artist says.
Kossow took hundreds of pictures
during the barn event, “but this one,
in particular, spoke to me,” she says.
“The dark interior with backlight
on the sheep was magical. Expectant
Mothers was one of those paintings
that I just knew would work out, and
I was able to paint it quickly without
overworkingit.In the Flow (12x22)
by Anne Strutz78 Pastel Journal APRIL 2020