303.795.
LEFT
Survived (15x20)
RIGHT
“The Twelve
Pastelists” was the
first national pastel
art exhibition in
Pakistan, organized
by Khan and Rauf.
Here they stand
with other partici-
pating pastelists in
the show.
fine art lecturer in the Department
of Art and Design at the University
of Peshawar, and says she has seen
the same attitude in her students.
“Hopefully, with the passage of time,
pastel will become recognized as a
major fine art medium at an institu-
tional level,” she says.
Khan says his love for painting
with sticks of pigment began when
he was a child, after he brought home
a piece of chalk from school when
he was just 4 years old. “During that
time, our house was being renovated,
and I climbed to the upper roof and
started writing Islamic calligraphy
on the newly plastered wall.” The
artist fell and broke his right hand in
five places, but that didn’t deter his
early love for the medium. “Pastels
are interesting, unique—a medium
of possibilities. I got really attached
and started the search for pastel
artists and art around the globe.
I discovered the Pastel Society of
America and the artwork of variousmaster artists. It greatly
inspired me, and I used to
explore the society’s website
on a regular basis.”
The PSP’s numbers have
steadily grown, certainly due
in part to Khan and Rauf ’s
campaigning. Their strategy
is to use workshops, classes,
demonstrations, exhibitions
and the spread of knowledge
through the society’s social
media and online platforms. “I
recently had a successful meeting
with the director of visual art at the
Pakistan National Council of the
Arts regarding the society and future
exhibitions,” says Khan. Upcoming
exhibitions for this society will be
extra special, as it turns out that a
youthful love for pastel runs in the
family. In a recent exhibition, the
society was proud to accept the work
of Emaan Naveed Khan, the couple’s
18-month-old daughter. PJArtistsNetwork.com 5