Myles Johnston was born in Sydney Australia, grew up in Canada, and is now living in Montreal, Quebec. He is currently president of the Pastel Society of Eastern Canada, aka PSEC.

Primarily self taught, he has studied under several living masters and taken extensive workshops and ateliers in Canada and the US. Myles's work can be described as contemporary realism that often contains a narrative seeking to evoke his artistic vision and emotion to the viewer. Myles has won numerous awards for his pastels and has been featured in select exhibitions nationally and abroad. His work can be seen most recently in the IAPS webshow with his painting 'Through The Prism'.

Charles Peer lives in Siloam Springs, Arkansas and recently retired after 31 years of teaching at John Brown University. Peer is a signature member of the PSA and the Ozark Pastel Society. His paintings have appeared in the Pastel Journal, the Artists Network and Pratiques des Arts, PSA, IAPS, Richeson 75 competitions and exhibits sponsored by regional pastel societies. His subject matter usually focuses on the often overlooked views of his local environment. His work can be viewed at www.charlespeer.com and Instagram.

Anna Wainright is a national and international award-winning gallery represented artist. Driven to paint images that evoke a sense of weather and emotion as well as place, she is known for her atmospheric pastels. She has a Master designation in the Pastel Society of America and International Association of Pastel Societies, and is a member of the Salmagundi Club and Oil Painters of America. She was recently featured in the April 2019 Pastel Journal for her Second Place awarded painting in the annual Pastel 100. She is also recently included in the art book "Pure Pastel: Contemporary Works by Today's Top Artists". Her works have been shown in museum exhibitions including the Butler Institute of American Art, OH; Slater Museum, Norwich, CT; and Haggin Museum, Stockton, CA. She is represented by The Artful Deposit in Bordentown, NJ; Beacon Fine Arts in Red Bank, NJ; and Camilla Richman Fine Arts in Osterville, MA. www.ajwainright.com.

As the popularity of juried exhibitions continues to grow, we at IAPS thought it might be useful and informative for our member societies if we pulled back the curtain on the jurying process we utilize. We have therefore garnered the observations of our jurors of selection for the 36th Exhibition. This is an informal, candid discussion that was initially taped to compile material for other educational purposes. After review, it was felt that, while unpolished in appearance, the dialog was so informative that it should be made available to the pastel community at large.

I want to personally thank jurors Anna Wainright, Charles Peer and Myles Johnston for taking the time to sit down with me to discuss the process and for allowing us to tape, and distribute, the outcome. Topics include: the curated jury process, what they took into consideration, and their personal observations as not just jurors, but fellow artists.

Enjoy,
Richard G. McKinley

Brooke Allison is a Master Pastelist with the Pastel Society of America, and an oil painter who has exhibited widely throughout the United States. Brooke works from life. Her subject matter is the figure, portrait, and still life. She is best known for her contemporary still lifes painted in pastel and for "Kate, changing the pose" - eight 48" x 36" paintings in oil of Kate Vail. She is a well known instructor in pastel, drawing and Independent Study at the Dunedin Fine Art Center in Dunedin, Florida. Brooke is a signature member of: PSA, PSWC, CLWAC, Florida Artist's Group.

While browsing through the art section in an old library in East Haddam, CT. I came across a book which stated that "Still Life is the lowest in the hierarchy of subjects to paint, suitable only for students and idle women." I thought I could do something with that.

That was the beginning of a 30 year series of paintings of household objects, clothes and objects of special significance. The objects were placed at the foot of the easel with no composition in mind. The design emerged through the process of painting.

The medium is pastel on a sanded surface.

Brooke Allison