Artist Beth Lowell shares a collection of pastel paintings inspired by memories and a sense of place. Enjoy more by visiting her website.
“The View at the Top” pastel, 9″ x 12″
My work is about relationships. I’m interested in connections that emerge between memory and image, viewer and subject, between the ordinary and the extraordinary. Each painting is a way of asking how color and form might deepen that experience of recognition.
“Incoming Storm” pastel, 9″ x 12″
Color is always my first and most essential tool. It is where I begin, and it shapes the way each subject unfolds. I’m drawn to the way color can heighten an experience, turning something ordinary into something memorable. A subject alone may carry meaning, but when paired with the right palette, it has the power to move beyond representation into something resonant.
“Duet” pastel, 9″ x 12″
Pastel has long been my medium of choice because of its immediacy and its ability to sustain layers of nuance. Through layering, blending, and pushing color against color, I can create surfaces that vibrate with energy and light.
“Bull Feeny’s Pub” pastel, 9″ x 12″
My process starts with the subject clearly in mind. But even within that clarity, there is room for discovery. The challenge and the reward lie in finding the exact balance of form and color that conveys not just how something looks, but how it feels to encounter it. My aim is not documentation but evocation—bringing the viewer into an experience of presence.
“Back to the Beach” pastel, 9″ x 12″
What I value most are the responses of those who encounter my work firsthand. A painting isn’t complete until it has been seen, and when a viewer or collector tells me that a piece speaks to them personally. That exchange feels like the truest measure of success. It confirms that the choices I made—the subject, the colors, the composition—carried through and invited connection.
“Horizon Line” pastel, 12″ x 5.5″
My body of work varies widely in subject matter, but there is a consistent thread: choice of subject, and the ongoing search for presence through color. As I continue to expand my practice, I remain committed to subjects that matter to me, and to the viewers who engage with them. Each painting is intentional, each choice deliberate. Together they form a conversation that is both personal and shared.
“Prevailing Winds” pastel, 9″ x 12″
I like to think of art as a meeting place, where predetermined subjects and spontaneous reactions to them converge, and where the ordinary becomes extraordinary through the alchemy of color and presence.
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