I

t’snotoftenthatI getto

interviewa popstarwho

metamorphosedintoa

pastelartist,butthenLes

Darlowhasfollowedhis

ownuniquepathtothe

medium.TheBritishland-

scapeandseascapeartist

beganhiscreativecareer

intechnicalillustrationbutnow

worksina painterlypastelstylethat

bordersonwatercolorandmaximizes

papersurfacetextureforeffect.He

usedtofeelsickatthethoughtof

givingpresentations,butnow—when

he’snotpainting—heconductspastel

workshopsanddemonstrations

aroundtheworldandviahislarge

YouTubefollowing.

ON THEROAD

DarlowreceivedanA Levelinart

beforehisfinalyearatschool,but

a careerasanartistdidn’tseem

viableatthattime.Ata university

openhouse,however,hewaspre-

sentedwitha rangeofcreative

options.Hisparents,herecalls,

thoughthecouldearna goodliving

asa technicalscientificillustrator,

sothatwastheroutehetook.“Idid

BRITISHPOP-STAR-

TURNED-PASTEL-ARTIST

LESDARLOWCREATES

PAINTERLYL ANDSCAPES

GROUNDEDINLIGHT,

ENERGY,MOVEMENT

ANDCOLOR.

ByLouellaMiles

GROUNDWORK

Sky Moods (pastel and

calligraghy inks, 11x15¾)

ArtistsNetwork.com 31