On Message
“Itrytousea widerangeofvalues,goingasdarkasI
canandthenbackingupfromthere,”saysHouston.“By
groundingmypaintingsinrichdarksandusinga variety
ofwarmandcoolcolorswithineachofthevalues,I can
createdrama.”HerfavoritedarkpastelsincludeTerry
Ludwig’sfamouseggplant.Shealsolovespastelsfrom
Unison,DianeTownsend’sTerragelineandpearlescent
sticks,andBlueEarth.Houstonalsorecentlyreleasedtwo
ofherownpastelcollectionswithJackRicheson.
Forhardpastels,NuPastelandGiraultareHouston’s
workhorses,usedprimarilyinthebeginningandtowards
theendofa paintingtoscumblecolorsoverthesofter
pastel,blendingandsofteningedges.Herfavoritepapers
includeSennelierLaCarteinSienna,andColourfixbyArt
Spectruminaubergine.Forlargerworks,suchasBrilliant
Morning(opposite),Houstonpreparesgatorboardby
rollingona coatofcoloredArtSpectrumColourfixPrimer
togivea lightpopcorn-liketexture.“Skieslookgreat
whenthey’relarge,”saysHouston.“Thechallengeisthat
oursticksarestillthesamesize.There’sa lotofgetting
thecolorsinwithphysicalblending,usingtheheelofmy
palmandlaterusingstickstocreatevisualblendingand
mark-making.”Houstonstrivesforfresh,spontaneous
mark-making,whichshefindsmorechallengingtoachieve
inlargepaintings.Often, she “double-float mounts”
her copper paintings. This involves
floating the painted copper on top of
a larger sheet of copper—textured
by an electric sander—and floating
the larger sheet of copper onto a mat
board. The whole thing is finished in a
deep rabbet frame, using custom wide
spacers and museum glass. Coppery
Cloud (below, right) is an example of
the exciting and lustrous qualities
Houston achieves when working and
mounting on copper. Houston applies
a thin coat of Lascaux fixative to her
pastels, whether they’re painted on
paper or metal, to prevent any particle
migration. She says, “I ship my work
and travel to art festivals, so the last
thing I want is pastel on the inside of
the glass.”BELOW LEFT
From Above (24x8)
BELOW
Coppery Cloud
(10x10) is one of
Houston’s works
done on copper.
The metal shows
through in the cloud
and foreground,
accentuated by the
copper mounting
behind it.OPPOSITE TOP
Brilliant Morning
(30x40)
OPPOSITE
BOTTOM
Cottonwood in
Cow Field (11x14)38 Pastel Journal AUGUST 2019