How did the Rusty Vehicle series get started?

A few years ago, we purchased some additional property that connected to ours. As we hiked the property, we stumbled across two rusty vehicles. A 1951 Mercury Coupe that had been altered with a Chevrolet truck bed and a 1970 Rambler. The Mercury was nestled in the woods with the sunlight filtering through the trees, across the ground, and up the side of the car. I was fascinated by the light, chrome, and rusty colors. Not to mention, I love old cars. I thought to myself, I need to try and paint that. Where do I begin, I’ve never painted a vehicle before. I had to remind myself of the basics of drawing, don’t think of it as a car, but rather shapes, values, and color.

I absolutely fell in love with creating the textures and rich multi-colors of rust and chrome. Now don’t get me wrong, I certainly faced some challenges, like I painted the glass three times before I got it right. I had so much fun, that I’ve been working on a series of rusty vehicles ever since.

A few of the pieces are still available for purchase through my on-line gallery.

Sharing my passion with the littles.

I had the wonderful opportunity to host four children from the ages of 18months to 7 years old in my studio this week. Their parents and grandmother joined in for the fun. Along with these guests, my daughter and her young son joined in. My daughter is also an accomplished artist, and I was grateful for her extra hands and sharing of knowledge.

We set up stations so the children could try pastels, acrylics, watercolors, markers and create a Christmas Ornament. It was so fun watching them experiment with different papers, textures, and mediums. They created so many wonderful and imaginative pieces over the course of several hours. There could be some promising Picasso’s in the bunch!

A shout out to the families for allowing me to share my passion.

Tis the Holiday Season

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas and joyous Holiday Season!

During all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, I wanted to take a moment to say how much I appreciate you all. Your supportive comments and encouragement throughout the year were much appreciated. Your curiosity in the process is energizing. Thank you for playing a role in my art journey.

Cheers to a blessed, happy, and healthy New Year.

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Arkansas Pastel Society Juried Member Show

Argenta Public Library Gallery, North Little Rock Arkansas

The Arkansas Pastel Society Juried show will be on display at that Argenta Public Library in North Little Rock from November 18, 2022 thru December 9, 2022.  If you are unable to attend, you can view the show at OnlineJuriedShows.

There were 53 entries by 28 artists submitted to be juried into the show by Charles Peer. Of those entries, 30 paintings were selected to hang in the show.

Please join us at the Opening Reception and Art Walk

The Opening Reception is Friday, November 18 from 5:00pm to 8:00pm. The reception will coincide with the Argenta Art Walk featuring walkable galleries on the 3rd Friday downtown North Little Rock in the Argenta Arts District.

During the Opening Reception, Charles Peer will present the Awards for Best of Show, 1st, 2nd, 3rd place and Honorable Mentions.

Argenta Public Library Gallery 

North Little Rock Public Library System

420 Main Street

North Little Rock, AR 72114

 A Little about our Juror

             Charles Peer has worked as a professional artist for over 45 years and has over 40 years of teaching experience to individuals, small groups, workshops (local, regional and national) and 36 years at the college level. He earned his MFA in
painting and drawing from the University of Arkansas and is a signature member of the Ozark Pastel Society (OPS) and the Pastel Society of America (PSA) as well as having been awarded the Master Circle designation from the International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS). Peer has been recognized with prizes in regional, national, and international exhibits, including the
Best of Show award in both the 2018 and 2021 APS exhibits, and his work has appeared in Pastel Journal, PSA’s Pastelagram, the Colored Pencil Magazine and Pratique de Arts (published in France). Additionally, he has served as a Juror and/or Judge of Awards for IAPS, Pastel Society of Oklahoma, and the Pastel Society of Eastern Canada.

This is the first “Juried” show that I fully organized, and I must say, it was fun! I will post photos after the reception.

Hope to see you there!

Tom Christopher Workshop

After several years of following Tom Christopher on Instagram, I had the opportunity to take one of his Workshops. Tom has a unique process for creating texture and movement in his work. He graciously shared his process during a two-day workshop hosted by the Ozark Pastel Society and some members of the Arkansas Pastel Society joined as well. The first morning was spent learning the process Tom uses to create the underpainting. Then he worked his magic during a demo as he shared his thoughts on value’s importance over color, mark making, standing back often, and keeping it simple. Let the human eye knit it together.

The afternoon was our turn to try his process for the underpainting and mesh it in with our developed mark making style. Tom walked the room and provided guidance and praise to each of the artists.

Day 2 was the same flow as Day 1; however, our focus was a snow scene. At the end of Day 2 we came together as a group and Tom critiqued each artist’s piece. It was amazing to see all the wonderful pieces using Tom’s process, yet each artist added their own flair. I was in awe, the work of this group of artists was stellar!

I will definitely be leveraging this process in some future pieces. Thank you Tom!