inclinations,workingvariouslyinoil,collageandpottery,
butthesepursuitsremainedinthebackground.A health
issueledtoherretirementfromediting—andultimately
toherreturntopainting.“WhenI cameback,”says
Richman,“Istartedagaininoil,thenpickedupa pastel
oneday—justtotryit—andrealizedthatpastelwasmy
drugofchoice.Thentherewasa joltofworkshops.”
Richmanfindsmuchtoloveaboutthemediumbesides
lavishcolor.There’stheinstantgratificationofhaving
hundredsofcolorsatherdisposalwithouttheneedtocre-
atemixtures.Shelikestheimmediacy—thedirectcontact
ofhandwithmedium,thefeelofthedustbetweenher
fingers.Shepointsoutthatpastels,althoughcommonly
usedforthemoretraditionalgenresofstilllife,landscape
andportrait,aresuperblysuitedforabstractart—for-
giving;amenabletochanges,whetherhiddenorvisible
aspentimenti;capableofexposingorcreatingtextures;
partneringwellinmixed-mediawork.“Iwouldlikethe
pastelworldtorecognizeabstractartmorethanit has,”
shesays.“Therearemanyextraordinaryrealistpastel
artists,butI thinkthere’sa lotlessacceptanceofabstract
artinthepastelcommunity.There’sroomforeverybody;
it’sa bigtent.”An Interior Process
AlthoughRichman’sgoalhadalways
beentocreateabstractcompositions,
herearlypastelswerestilllifesand
landscapes.Atonepointshebecame
“obsessed”withchairsasa sub-
ject,creatinga seriesofworksthat
becamemoreandmoreabstracted.
Eventually,shecrossedthelinetothe
nonobjectivepiecesshenowcreates.
Whenaskedwhyshedidn’t
simplystartwithabstracts,she
replies,“Ididn’tknowhow.A lot
ofpeoplethinkthatabstractartis
thecomfortzoneofthosewhocan’t
draw,andthatsimplyisn’tthecase.
Simplification,reduction,emotional
revelationandabandonmentto
theformalelementsarenoteasy.
Frankly,I thinkit’sa loteasierto
painta landscapeora portraitfrom
a photograph;thesubjectisright
infrontofyou.”Sheadds,“I’mnotABOVE
Psycho Babble
(31x42)
OPPOSITE
Fragments: The
Party’s Over
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