Pastel Journal - USA (2019-09)

MINDING THE

(SURFACE) GAP

Darlow favors pastel landscapes and

seascapes that are based in light,

energy, movement and color. “I love

crashing and breaking waves and

places like the Pacific Coast Highway

and the San Francisco Bay,” he says.

“To be honest, I think I’m obsessed with water. A lot

of my landscapes feature lakes and rivers.”

Darlow’s modus operandi is interesting. To maintain

the paper’s surface texture, he uses water-based callig-

raphy inks as a color base before applying pastel. This

allows him to maintain the paper’s surface texture,

which is a critical component of his painting style.

“I tend to use a lot of inks that are permanent but

lightfast,” the artist says. “I think of it as dying the

ABOVE

Fading Light

(pastel, 18¾x18¾)

LEFT

Breaking Waves

(pastel, 18¾x11¾)

RIGHT

Darlow uses a

PanPastel palette

when working

en plein air, to

capture the English

countryside in a

painterly style.

34 Pastel Journal OCTOBER 2019