There’s a flush, lush beauty in pastels. A long time ago, my High School art teacher suggested that I try using the medium. He gave me some basic colors, but no direction. And so the effort fell by the wayside. Now, I see that perhaps I should have continued.

There’s numerous great artists of this medium. And here is just one of them. His works speak to me. Maybe they will to you as well.

Kaislikkoranta

Lake Shore with Reeds.  95.5 x 75.5 cms | 37 ^1/2 x 29 ^1/2 ins. Oil on canvas

Dead calm. Dreary winter day. Lovely trees. You can almost hear the lone leaf or two rattling in the breeze.

Leena

One of the first things I learns, back when I was young, was to outline the work in heavy dark pencil and then color it in. Later, I discovered by painting and highlighting it emphasized the work and framed it. Much like this work.

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Lady of the Island and Hero of the Sea

24.8 x 18.9 cms | 9 ^3/4 x 7 ^1/4 ins
Pastel

It’s unfinished, but I really do love this in it’s rough state.

Christ Calming the Waters

This, in itself is just beautiful. I love the colors and everything about this work. Even the simplicity of the sail is just beautiful. The ascetic is just wonderful.

He really has quite the way with the pastel medium.

Nude

1908. Oil painting. 23.6 x 21.7 cms | 9 ^1/4 x 8 ^1/2 ins

I love this work.

Though maybe others might not agree with me. It’s calming and lovely.

Jesus and the Fallen Woman

1908. Oil on canvas

Again, a wonderful allegory, and well painted and displayed.

After Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus, Jesus left that area called Judea and was traveling back to Galilee. As he was traveling he went through Samaria and stopped at a city called Sychar. He stopped at what was called Jacob’s well. This was a well that his ancestor had dug himself and given to Joseph. 

Jesus sat at the well tired and hungry after a long walk. I picture the day that is talked about in the scripture as a hot day, the text tells us that it was about six in the evening. It was just about harvest time. I picture Jesus looking upward and seeing the famous Mt. Gerizim overshadowing that well. This mount would have been the home to the Samaritan temple. 

Jesus sat there by the well with only John with him, the other disciples were sent into the city to buy food. 

I picture our savior sitting down, tired, discouraged, and hungry. Then I picture this Samaritan woman coming into the picture to draw water from the well. I picture her looking timidly at Jesus because she would have recognized him as a Jew. She probably expected to be mocked because of her Samaritan roots. The woman realized quickly that Jesus was not the typical arrogant Jewish man. I want to look at the way in which Jesus dealt with this fallen woman from Samaria. 

Perhaps Jesus would respond in a similar way to us. We all though are forced to confront certain aspects of our lives when we hear and learn about Jesus. The Samaritan woman was forced to confront certain aspects of her life because of her encounter with Jesus and so must we.

-SermonCentral

Summer Night Moon

1889. Oil on canvas. 62 x 79.5 cms | 24 ^1/4 x 31 ^1/4 ins . Ateneum Hall, Finish National Gallery | Helsinki | Finland

Lovely. I really like how he did this. You know, it’s really difficult to paint these evening scenes, and when you do it right, well… it’s magical. This is a superb work, and I personally think it is wonderful.

Saimi in the Meadow

1892 . Oil on canvas. 70 x 100 cms | 27 ^1/2 x 39 ^1/4 ins. Järvenpää Art Museum | Järvenpää | Finland

Saimi means “lake” in Finland, and it is often used as a woman’s name. this is lovely yes? A nice day, lying in the grass and looking up towards the clouds. Quite wonderful.

Berry Pickers

45.4 x 69.7 cms | 17 ^3/4 x 27 ^1/4 ins
Oil on canvas

Again, this is a wonderful work. It’s a fine painting that would look good in a living room, a dining room, or even a well appointed bedroom. I love it.

And with that being said…

Let’s look at what life was like when these paintings and works were being made…

Historical Perspective

Just some photos. Here’s a bridge.

In those days, all was art.

And then we have this…

And then we have this…

In those days, beauty was appreciated. Not for profit, or for sex, or for power and control (like we see in America and the West today), but rather simply for the sake of beauty itself. And isn’t that a valuable thing?

Conclusion

Art isn’t a singular painting that some wealthy patron buys and hoards inside his house. It is everything. It is the dew on the grass in the morning, to the sleek lines of your clothes iron. It is the smile on your pet’s face when it is napping after a meal, and the warmth of a pile of clothes out of the dryer on a cold, cold Winter day.

I just wanted to share these images with you all. I hope that you enjoyed them.

Do you want more?

I have more posts like this in my Art Index here…

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