We are delighted to showcase the work of Gelise McCullough, who has successfully completed her pastels course. Gelise has produced a varied and expressive set of pieces for her final assignment, demonstrating growing confidence and a clear enjoyment of the medium.
Gelise approached this assignment with determination, even choosing to revisit and redo much of the work to push it further. That kind of discipline always shows in the final results and it certainly has here.
The hand studies are particularly successful. Hands are never the easy option, yet Gelise has explored them in several ways, from pencil to colour and monochrome pastel. The monochrome piece stands out as the strongest, with confident tones and structure, while the colour version has a lively, slightly exaggerated quality that gives it character. There is a clear sense that Gelise enjoyed studying form and really looking at what was in front of her.
Her perspective study shows a good understanding of structure and light. The shifting colours across the planes and the attention to shadow give the piece a solid, grounded feel.
The landscape, inspired by her recent trip to Vietnam, is full of atmosphere. Gelise has pushed the colour beyond the reference, which works well, bringing energy to the scene. The buildings and boats are suggested rather than overworked, yet still read clearly, which is often the better approach.
The portrait of Lara focuses on light and colour within the skin tones. Gelise has explored how shadows are not simply darker versions of the same colour, but contain subtle shifts, which is an important step forward in portrait work.
It is also lovely to hear how much Gelise has enjoyed working with pastels. Exploring different materials such as Sennelier pastels, Caran d’Ache pencils and pastel papers has clearly helped her find what suits her way of working. Her comments about Pastelmat versus Canson paper will resonate with many artists working in this medium.
Overall, this is a confident and thoughtful body of work. Gelise has made excellent progress throughout the course and has developed a strong foundation in pastel techniques.
We would like to thank Gelise for her kind words and for being such a dedicated student. It has been a pleasure to follow her journey, and we hope she continues to enjoy working with both pastels and oils in the future.
You can find out more about the course here:
https://www.londonartcollege.co.uk/art-courses/pastels-certificate-course/
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