Pastel delight’s descending on Arrowtown.
The 21st Purely Pastel national exhibition is paying a visit to Lakes District Museum and Gallery, running from today till April 14.
It’s accompanied by the three-day annual Pastel Artists of New Zealand (PANZ) conference, which also starts today in Arrowtown, bringing with it the PANZ national art awards and some special guest artists.
Conference convenor and PANZ national president Lyn Henry says about 50 guests from across the country are expected this weekend, most of whom have art hanging in the exhibition.
Five of the almost 70 paintings on display are created by master pastellists — the highest honour given to PANZ members.
Henry says the honours system is based a lot on giving back to the community — artists collect points for having art placed in exhibitions, running workshops and tutoring.
She says every piece in the museum is of beautiful quality, created with a lot of skill and artistic technique.
‘‘The public would be amazed at what pastel artists can produce … it’s a long way from the old chalks of school days.’’
Henry adds there’s a lot of variety of styles and topics across the exhibition, which PANZ aims to bring to places ‘‘that hadn’t seen pastel art of this quality before’’.
