Skill Builders
I
wanted to paint big. As an architect-
turned-artist, I continue to be
fascinated by large manmade
objects: buildings, bridges, earth-
moving machines, trucks, trains.
My ambitions were at odds, however,
with my chosen medium—pastel.
The heaviness of the protective glass,
to say nothing of the cost, made large
pastel works impractical. And then
there was the transportation issue:
I drive a MINI Cooper.I found the solution to these
problems in the ages-old tradition
of the polyptych, broadly defined as
a multipaneled painting. As I later
learned, the tradition arose in part
as a practical response to the same
problems I was facing. In the Middle
Ages, for example, altarpiece paint-
ings often were hinged to fold shut for
protection (in Greek, “ptych” means
“fold”) and to facilitate relocation
from one place of worship to another.Throughout history, diptychs often
have been used to point out contrasts:
old/new; youth/age; before/after;
day/night; summer/winter; spring/
fall, etc. But the format alone, absent
any symbolism, has a power in itself.A Monster at the Window
The idea for my first multipanel
painting, Riotous Rooftop (above),
came to me in a Santa Fe gallery five
years ago. Looking up toward thePainting in Parts
One artist finds solutions, creativity and meaning in her exploration
of the polyptych.
By Pamela Winkler
10 Pastel Journal JUNE 2019