Rick featured in Pastel Journal Magazine - November  2000

Artworks Database: I have designed a database that artists can use to 
keep track of their work. Click here.

Prints Available: Prints of the Taylor Books painting are available at Taylor Books. Many people have asked about this. If you can't afford an original this is good news. If you are interested in other paintings, email me.

What Is A Pastel Painting? See article below.

Rick's Tutorial: How to Photograph Flat Art

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Catalog of works from recent years:

Bedfordbury Street in London's Covent Garden.
26, 27, 28 Bedfordbury
1998 - Covent Garden, London, England
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper - 29x19 inches
1150.00 SOLD


The Radcliffe Camera
2000 - Oxford, England
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper  - 16x20 inches
1200.00

 


The River Cam
2000 - Cambridge, England
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper - 29x20 inches
1500.00

 

Queen Street, Bath, England
Queen Street
2000 - Bath, England
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper - 29x20 inches
1200.00 SOLD

Stream, Castle Combe, England
Castle Combe Stream
 2000 - Castle Combe, England
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper - 28x20 inches
1200.00

 

Church, Castle Combe, England
 Castle Combe Church
 2000 - Castle Combe, England
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper - 21x29 inches
1200.00 SOLD

 

The Blossom Deli on Quarrier Street in Charleston's Historic Village District.
Blossom Dairy
 1998 - Charleston, WV
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper - 18x27 inches
900.00 SOLD

Breezemont Mansion. Historic old home on Charleston's Watt's Hill
 Breezemont Columns
1996 - Charleston, WV
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper  - 18x13 inches
500.00

The former Camilles store on the Lee Street Triangle in Charleston's Historic Village District
 Camille's on Lee Street
1996 - Charleston, WV
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper - 15x20 inches
750.00

Columns on the south portico of the WV capitol building
 Column Capitals, Capitol Building
1996 - Charleston, WV
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper  - 19x14 inches
500.00  SOLD

Interior view of London's historic Covent Garden Market
 Covent Garden Market
 1998 - London, England
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper  - 13x18 inches
900.00 SOLD

Deangate (street) in York, England
 Deangate
1998 - York, England
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper  - 12x17 inches
800.00

Dean's Yard, site of boy's school attached to Westminster Abbey
 Dean's Yard at Westminster Abbey
1998 - London, England
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper  - 12x18 inches
700.00

Houses of Parliament as seen from Lambeth Bridge
Houses of Parliament from Lambeth Bridge
1998 - London, England
Rick Lee
Pastel on gray-flocked paper  - 24x16 inches
800.00


 Lee Street Triangle
1996 - Charleston, WV
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper  - 21x15 inches
750.00 SOLD

The old Loewenstein Building, now the site of Helen's Homemade Ice Cream in Charleston's Historic Village District
 Loewenstein Building
 1998 - Charleston, WV
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper  - 17x28 inches
SOLD

Manor Place in Charleston's East End
 Manor Place
 1996 - Charleston, WV
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper  - 24x16 inches
600.00

Gate to St Mary's Abbey ruin in ancient York, England
 Gatehouse, St. Mary's Abbey
 1997 - York, England
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper  - 23x17 inches
NFS, the collection of the artist

Minster Yard (street) behind Yorkminster Cathedral in ancient York, England
 Minster Yard
1998 - York, England
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper  - 18x12 inches
700.00 SOLD

First Prebyterian Church of Charleston, WV
 First Presbyterian Church
1996 - Charleston, WV
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper  - 14x20 inches
500.00

The old Scott Brothers building (currently United Bank) in Charleston's Historic Village District
 Scott Brothers Building
 1996 - Charleston, WV
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper  - 14x20 inches
500.00 SOLD

Sunrise Mansion, built as Gov. MacCorkle's home, presently houses the Sunrise science museum and planetarium
 Sunrise Mansion
1997 - Charleston, WV
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper  - 21x16 inches
750.00 SOLD   (featured on the Clay Center site)

Taylor Books, in a restored Victorian building in Charleston's Village District
 Taylor Books
 1996 - Charleston, WV
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper  - 16x20 inches
SOLD  (see www.taylorbookswv.com)

A fine old Spanish-style home in Charleston's East End Historic District
 House on Veazey Street
1996 - Charleston, WV
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper  - 14x20 inches
500.00 SOLD

Yorkminster Cathedral in ancient York, England
 Yorkminster & St. William's College
 1998 - York, England
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper  - 18x12 inches
800.00 SOLD


Rowing, Regent Park
1999 - London, England
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper  - 27x18 inches
800.00

University students earn money by giving tours on the Cam River... pushing the gondola-like boats along with long poles.
Punting on the Cam
1999 - Cambridge, England
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper  - 14x14 inches
700.00

Christ's Pieces is the name of a sizable park in Cambridge. In the summertime, the flower beds are stunning, but not remarkable by English standards.
 Christ's Pieces
 1999 - Cambridge, England
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper - 18x12 inches
800.00 SOLD

The old KB&T Building on Capitol Street in Charleston, WV is now renovated into a residential tower and commercial space.
 KB&T Center
 1999 - Charleston, WV
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper  - 27x18 inches
SOLD

The Capitol City Building is often overlooked in Charleston, WV. Most people know it as "the building where the Peanut Shop is".
The Capitol City Building
 1999 - Charleston, WV
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper  - 18x27 inches
SOLD

The Kanwha County Library occupies a fine old building which was once the Post Office and Federal Building. This picture has been made into a poster by the Library Foundation.
 Kanawha County Library, the Old Federal Building
 1999 - Charleston, WV
Rick Lee
Pastel on black paper  - 27x18 inches
SOLD

Images  © 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Richard S. Lee

 

What is a pastel painting?

Pastel is pure pigment, the same pigment used in making all fine art paints. It is the most permanent of all media when applied to conservation ground (such as acid-free paper) and properly framed. Pastel has no liquid binder that may cause other media to darken, fade, yellow, crack or blister with time. Pastels from the 16th century exist today, as fresh as the day they were painted, no restoration needed.

 Pastel does not refer to pale colors, as the word is commonly used in cosmetic and fashion terminology. The name pastel comes from the French word "pastische" because the pure, powdered pigment is ground into a paste, with a small amount of gum binder, and then rolled into sticks. The infinite variety of colors in the pastel palette range from soft and subtle to bold and brilliant. Note: Pastel must never be confused with colored chalk. Chalk is a mineral substance impregnated with dyes.

 An artwork is created by stroking the sticks of dry pigment across an abrasive ground, embedding the color in the "tooth" of the paper, sandboard or canvas. If the ground is completely covered with pastel, the work is sometimes called a pastel "painting". Leaving much of the ground exposed produces a pastel sketch or drawing. Techniques vary with the individual artists. Pastel can be blended or used with visible strokes. Many artists favor the medium because it allows a spontaneous approach. There is no drying time, little clean-up, and no allowances to be made for a change in color due to drying.

 Historically, pastel can be traced back to the 16th century. Its invention is attributed to the German painter Johann Thiele. A Venetian woman artist, Rosalba Carriera was the first to make consistent use of pastel. Chardin did portraits with an open stroke, while LaTour preferred the blended finish. Thereafter a galaxy of famous artists... Watteau, Copley, Delacroix, Millet, Manet, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, Vuillard, Bonnard, Glackens, Whistler, Hassam, William Merritt Chase... just to list the more familiar names, used pastel as finished work rather than preliminary sketches.

Edgar Degas was a prolific user of pastel, and its champion. His protégé, Mary Cassatt introduced the Impressionists and pastel to her friends in Philadelphia and Washington, and thus to the United States. In the Spring of 1983, Sotheby Parke Bernet sold at auction two Degas pastels for more than $3,000,000 each. Both pastels were painted about 1880.

Pastel is sometimes combined with watercolor, gouache, acrylic, charcoal or pencil in a mixed-media painting, but it is incompatible with oil paint. Today, pastel paintings have the stature of oil and watercolor as a major fine art medium. Many of our most renowned living artists have distinguished themselves in pastel, and enriched the art world with this beautiful medium.

Article Copyright © Pastel Society of America
15 Gramercy Park South
New York, NY 10003

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