Pastel Journal - USA (2019-09)

start overworking; the tighter I get,
the less I like them.”
Inspired by a line from the song
“World Traveler” by Andrew Peterson,
Beneath My Roof Tonight (page 22)
reveals a master’s touch and intui-
tive compositional skills. “The line
in the song references how Peterson
sees a reflection of the divine in the
innocence and peacefulness of sleep-
ing children,” says Latala. “I posed my
daughter Caroline as though sleep-
ing with the comfort of her teddy
bear amid a swirl of blankets. She
appears so peaceful, representing
calm within the storm of life.” Adeptly

underscoring his idea is the use of

contrasting color temperatures cou-

pled with a strong chiaroscuro effect.

“I’m constantly trying to simplify what

I’m observing,” says the artist, “and

consider value and color temperature

to be key components in my work.”

A Cool Light

A juror once described Latala’s award-

winning painting Cool Light (opposite)

as “a small jewel.” Created as a demon-

stration in one of the artist’s classes,

this still life exemplifies his penchant

for using cool light and warm shadows.

Similarly,themodelforCathy

(opposite)wasposedundercoollight.

“Cathyis anebullient,happyperson,

andI thinkI capturedsomethingof

herinnerhappinessbyusingwarmth

intheshadowsandcontrastingher

againsta coolgreenish-blue,”says

Latala.“It’sinterestingthatwhen

I’mteachingorpaintinga modelin

a groupsession,peopleprefera warm

lightnearly 100 percentofthetime.

I gravitatetotheopposite.”Inhisstu-

dio,heusesa NanguangCN 600 CSA

LEDStudioLightwhichhastwoknobs,

oneforcool,theotherforwarm,sohe

canpreciselyadjustcolortemperature

from3200K(warm)to5600K(cool).

ForhisenchantingGypsy(above

left),paintedduringa sessionata

colleague’sstudio,themodelwas

warm-litfrombeneathbylowwatt-

agelighttocreatea mysterious,

candleliteffect.Latalawasespecially

carefulnottooverdodetailsofhis

subject.“OvertheyearsI’velearned

nottooverworkmypaintings,”he

says.“I’malwaystryingtoeditor

simplifytheimageI’mtryingto

create.Forexample,I lovepainting

headdressesandscarves.

“Iwasreallyconsciousoftheneed

toturnaroundperiodicallyandstep

back,viewingthispaintingfrom

LEFT

Gypsy (16x12)

BELOW

Summer (20x16)

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