It’s not quite business as usual at the Northwest Pastel Society’s 27th annual International Open Exhibition, on this month and next at American Art Company in downtown Tacoma. Yes, around half of the show is misty, romantic landscapes, all well executed but looking just like pastels pretending to be oil paints and eschewing any originality of vision.
But a handful of the works – mostly those awarded juried prizes – both capture the unique texture and feel of the medium and say something unusual to boot. In the front portrait gallery, many of the works sport light-burnished, angelic subjects …
