Pastel Journal - USA (2020-04)

clothesforwhenthey’dfitonceagain.”Thispaintingshows

thekindoffocusedattentionthatenablesthemourningof

lettinggo.“There’snostalgiawhenI lookatmycloset,”the

artistcontinues.“Itnowshowsnovacancy.I nolongerplay

thegame.”

THIRDPLACE

MarieTippets

MarieTippets(marietippets.com),ofDanaPoint,Calif.,has

hergirlfriendtothankfortheinspirationbehindTheGift

Box. Thestilllifeobjectsbelongedtothelatter’sgrand-

mother,andtheartistsaysthepaintingwasbornwiththe

intentiontoacknowledge“thosewhohaveprecededme,and

thegiftsthattheypasseddown—inideas,treasures,words

andmusic.”Recently,Tippetsandhergirlfriend“spentan

afternoonsharingstoriesandtreasures,”andwhentheart-

ist’sfriendpulledouthergrandmother’sfavoriteteacups,

theysparkedanidea.Theywerejusttheobjectsneededfor

thestilllifeTippetshadbeenthinkingaboutcreating.It was

theartist’s“delicatetechnique”inhandlingtheseobjects

thatcaughtHildebrandt’sattention.

Tippetsdoesn’tinitiallyhavea fullyformedcomposition

inhermind.“Iworkinnaturallight,whichisfleeting,so

I paintfromphotographs,andaseachpieceistranslated

fromphototopainting,I takesomeliberties,”shesays.

“Sometimes,whenwe’reshoppingorI’mvisitingsomeone,

I’llfallinlovewitha particular

object,”Tippetssays.“I may

notknowwhyit strikes me so

much,butI’llstartwith that.”

Arrangingthestilllife is an

integralpartoftheprocess, and

Tippetsactsasa setdesigner as

wellasa painter.Shehas a spot

inherhome,infrontof a pair

ofFrenchdoors,where she likes

toexperiment.“Theshades are

drawninthebeginning,” she

says,“whileI concentrate on

compositionandstory arrange-

ment.I canneverpredict what

thelightwilldowhenI raise the

shades,butI’malways hope-

fulforthat‘magic’—the warm

glow,thebeautifullongshadows,thegorgeouscolors in the

shadedareas.”Tippetscontinuestorearrangetheobjects

untilthesetupandthelight“worktogether,inharmony,

togivemethegreenlighttoproceed.”

ForTheGiftBox, Tippetsstartedfroma bird’s-eye view,

whichallowedhertorevealallthedetailsoftheintricately

decoratedcups.Shedecidedtousetheboxandlid as a

framingdevice;theangularitycomplemented“the soft,

roundfemininityofthecups,”shesays.Thetissue paper

actsasa transitionbetweenthetwo.

Thesimpleandstriking,perfectlybalancedcomposition

ensuresthattheseheirloomswillbepasseddownto the

nextgeneration.

FOURTHPLACE

LaurelB.Friedmann

“Thispaintingreflectsmyfascinationwiththefigure,” says

OldSaybrook,Conn.,artistLaurelB.Friedmannof her

pastel,3 Generations, whichis a tripleportraitinside a still

life.Themodelforthetapeddrawingis theartist’s daugh-

ter,andthechalkdrawingsweredonebyhergrandchildren.

Hildebrandtcaughtontothemeaningfulstory behind

thepainting.“Whatmaylooksimplewaslikelydifficult

topaint,andthesubjectclearlyhasmeaningtothe artist.”

Friedmann’spaintingisa reflectionofthewaywe deem

certainkindsofartmoreworthy.“Ibegantothink about

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT

The Gift Box (13½x13½)

by Marie Tippets

3 Generations (29x20½)

by Laurel B. Friedmann

Glorious Day (14x18)

by Lyn Diefenbach

72 Pastel Journal APRIL 2020