Pastel Painting

Pastel Painting Story

A Nice Pastel Painting Story.

If you have stopped Pastel Painting for some reason and was wondering about returning to it, then read this !

When artist Julie Friedman took a five-year break from her art to devote herself full-time to raising her children, she used to dream in color.

"Every night I would see a different color," Friedman said. "My husband would ask me, 'What color is it today?' But just like that, it stopped once I starting painting again."

Friedman's ArtSpace Studio and Gallery in Morristown will host its first gallery event, appropriately titled "New Beginnings," starting Friday. Works by Friedman and several other artists will be on exhibit.

Friedman, 46, of Randolph, missed painting during her hiatus. After earning her bachelor of fine arts degree from the Mason Gross School of Art at Rutgers University in 1984, she took a 13-year detour from oil painting to focus on a career in textile design and then on raising her three children. But she always knew that she would someday return to her passion and paint full-time.

That happened in 1997, when a local art association advertised a weekend workshop with the renowned pastel artist Wolf Kahn. Friedman, who had never worked with pastels before, was terrified to take the workshop, but her desire to paint again would not go away.

"My husband is the reason I went back into the studio," Friedman said. "I had spoken about taking Kahn's class for so long that he knew I should do it. And one day, he came home with the biggest, most expensive box of pastels you have ever seen. He gave it to me and said, 'Now you have to take his class.' I no longer had an excuse. That was the push that I needed."

Friedman's husband, Ed, 48, knew what his wife needed. Married almost 24 years, he knew that she needed a little nudge -- and a dose of courage to explore her talent as an artist.

"Back then, she needed that impetus to make that lifestyle change," Ed said. "She needed that outside force to make it happen. I knew it would start to fulfill that part of her life that had been put on hold."

That workshop with Kahn changed everything for Julie Friedman. Over the next three years, she threw herself into pastel painting by working with other artists and teachers to find her own style and master the art of pastel.

The serious commitment to her art eventually led Friedman to rent a studio outside her home. She found the perfect location in an old historic building in Morristown.

Once a private home, the rooms retain original inlaid hardwood floors and a nonworking fireplace. The warm and charming space, with its high ceilings, interesting moldings and whitewashed walls, lent itself perfectly as a place to create and to display art.

Friedman had always felt insecure about her art and hated showing it. Although she painted all the time, she never exhibited her work for others to see. Then she turned 40 and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks happened.

"The insecurities that I had felt started to disappear," Friedman said. "I thought, 'What are you waiting for?' A week after 9/11, I got up enough courage to show my work. I had a one-woman show at the Randolph Library, and almost everything in the show sold. I couldn't believe it. It never dawned on me that people would want to buy my work."

Within three years, Friedman had a national article published on her and her work.

Friedman began teaching pastel painting to adult students more than five years ago.

"I never considered myself a teacher until the Somerset Art Association asked me to teach a class," she said. "I love teaching as much as I love painting. But I don't really consider myself a teacher. I am more like a mentor or a coach -- like a doula (Jewish birthing coach) who helps an artist give birth to her art."

Friedman knew and appreciated just how special her husband's support was and wanted to give back to others. Knowing that many artists, particularly women, don't always have the encouragement she had at home, Friedman wanted to create a place where other artists could work, in a secure and friendly environment, and feel free to create their own art. Now, she finds great satisfaction in helping others achieve their artistic goals.

"I wanted to be that cheerleader for other artists -- for people who might not have a lot of support for their art," she said.

Friedman decided to expand her space to create a studio and fine art gallery for herself and for others. The space, now called ArtSpace Studio and Gallery, is in Morristown and provides a place where "everyone's voice is heard, encouraged and supported." ArtSpace also offers classes, open studios and semi-private studio space for rent.

The gallery will host its first event, appropriately titled "New Beginnings," on Friday. Maryann Didriksen, 43, is one of the artists included in the show. A former graphic designer and mother of two, she was looking for an art community to paint with.

"I had seen an article on Julie," Didricksen said. "I had never painted with pastel before, but I ended up liking it a lot. Julie was really wonderful helping me with my work. She's a more of a mentor than a traditional teacher."

Jane Cohen, 55, is another artist in the show, one who showed talent from an early age: Her nursery school teacher told her mother that she was an artist. After graduating from art school, she embarked on a career as a commercial artist but hated it. She changed careers and began creating ceramic teeth and enjoyed it because of its sculptural qualities.

"I had my own business as a dental ceramicist for 25 years," Cohen said. "But I always knew that I would get back to my art someday."

That someday happened when Cohen's husband passed away in 2006. Getting back to her art helped her to heal.

"I decided to close my business and get back to my art," Cohen said. "Julie got me to try pastel, and I loved it. I had never worked with it before, but Julie is a fantastic mentor and teacher. I've started a new chapter in my life, and this is helping me."

Friedman is an artist who loves color. Her highly regarded landscapes celebrate color with shimmering pastel pigments. Friedman's work has strong emotional ties to color -- inspired by Kahn. The strong contrasts of light and dark are evident in each landscape she paints. The heightened colors in Friedman's paintings may seem like an artistic device, but, in fact, they simply reflect her attraction to rich color.

"I love seeing color," Friedman said. "I love seeing the color and responding to it. Pastels have immediacy to them. It is just like painting with dry color. It's really about letting go and trusting yourself."

Letting go and trusting herself was something Friedman struggled with. She had lived most of her life in fear.

"I was afraid of failing," Friedman said. "I was always insecure about my work, and my husband would always tell me, 'No guts, no glory.' But I was afraid that I wasn't good enough."

Now, as a full signature member of the Pastel Society of America, Friedman's work has been shown in several galleries in the United States. She has received numerous awards and has been featured in several art publications, including the Pastel Journal. There is little reason for Friedman to feel insecure anymore. She is an artist of extraordinary talent who just need a little push. Luckily, her husband was there to do the pushing.

"I was just the match that started the fire," Ed said. "Now, she is the spark for other people -- getting others to light their own fires."

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