Layered LANDSCAPES

Ringwood pastels artist Sheila Goodman is inspired by her local beauty spots

- Sandra Smith

If, like me, you typecast pastels as being the poor relation among the wealth of vibrant acrylics, traditional oils and other mediums available to artists, then here’s your opportunity to learn from my misjudgement.

Just spend a few minutes studying Sheila Goodman’s landscapes and we’ll soon be on the same page. Now, don’t you intuit how the depth and atmosphere she captures, the sunlight, trees and water, breathe life into your senses? Can’t you almost hear the lapping of water, feel a summer breeze caress your skin, smell the morning dew? So, yes, I am now a convert to pastels. Not only that, I’m also marvelling at the serendipitous occasion which eventually led to a portfolio of stunning images.

“Back in the 1990s,” Sheila recalls from her Ringwood home of 30 years, “I wanted to take some drawing equipment with me on holiday and found an old box of pastels. They were awful but a travelling kit of colour. When I returned I investigated pastels a lot more, bought some good ones and never looked back.”

Previously devoted to oils, the qualities and convenience of pastels make perfect sense to Sheila who is devoted to the dry pigments, pressed into sticks, which have been popular with artists since the 18th century.