Pastel portraits painted, gratis, by Gwendolyn Evans, from photos sent to her by the victims’ families of the 9/11 tragedy.
A pastel landscape workshop will be held at Gwendolyn Evans Gallery, 75 Hunters Landing Road, Walpole, Thursday and Friday, Aug. 12 and 13, from 9 a.m. to noon.
Evans has worked in the pure pigment medium of soft pastel since she was fifteen, first doing portraits at art fairs, then continuing in the medium for decades in portraiture, still life, and landscape. Evans studied pastel portraiture with Daniel Greene, whose work hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art; she was also his assistant for his St. Louis portraiture workshop in the 1970s.
Following 9/11, while living just an hour from New York City, Evans painted, gratis, for families of that tragedy 32 pastel portraits from photos sent to her by the victims’ families, several of which are shown here. Gwendolyn says, “It was a sad labor of love; I remember one of the first 9/11 portraits I did was of a young woman whose coffin contained only an arm; she was the same age as my son and I cried through the doing of it. I cherish the many grateful cards and letters I received. Art has an ability to uplift at difficult times; I’m so glad to have been able to express life of the loved ones for their families to treasure always.”
Students who sign up for Evans’ August workshop will be completing landscapes in pastel. For details about the workshop and the supplies needed, please phone Evans at 390-8554 or email her at gwendolynevansart@gmail.com. Evans holds a master’s degree with honors from Rhode Island School of Design as well as a fine arts degree from Principia College and has taught pastel, watercolor, drawing, oil, etc. for decades.
Tuition for the 6-hour 2-day workshop is $60; class size will be limited to 5 students so that much individual attention may be given. Evans plans to offer a portraiture workshop later in the year. See her professional website at gwendolynevans.com and her inspirational website at voiceandvisionwordsandworks.com.
