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Several Gallery Moab Artists belong to the Moab Pastel Guild. They are currently participating in a show at the Big Horn Gallery located at Dead Horse Point State park. Victoria Fugit, Peggy Harty, Larry Thomas, Robin Straub, Thea Nordling, Mary Collar, Marsha Modine and

Margie Lopez-Read are the Gallery Moab Artists that are participating in the show with fellow members of the Moab Pastel Guild.

This article is taken from the Moab Happenings Southeast Utah's Event Magazine, http://www.moabhappenings.com/GalleryHappenings.htm .

The group has been working together for several years, enthusiastically embracing opportunities to learn and experiment with different techniques and approaches to composition. All share a deep love of the surrounding landscape and its ever-changing light, moods, and colors. Over time, each member has developed a unique personal vision and style. Several have received awards for art entered in shows in Utah and Colorado. The artists all initially focused on honing their skills with pastel, but now some are expanding their repertoire by working in watercolor and oils as well.

Pastel is often mistakenly confused with chalk. It is quite different. Pastel is pure pigment mixed with just enough binder to hold it together in stick form. The purity of the pigments lets their brilliance glow. Pastel is a very vibrant and versatile medium that mixes well with other mediums. Some artists use only dry pastel on paper. Others apply it over underpaintings rendered in watercolor, acrylic, or pastel dissolved in turpenoid or alcohol on heavier, textured surfaces. The resulting works are varied, ranging from detailed realism and more loosely rendered impressionism to abstraction.

Subject matter includes our beloved local landscape, as well as animals, flowers, and more distant landscapes which have inspired the artists. Works on display will include both paintings created in the studio and en plein air. During the exhibition the original paintings will be available for purchase, as well as prints and note cards.

The Guild members invite you to join them for an opening reception at the Bighorn Gallery on Sunday, June 4th from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Entrance to the park will be free for those attending the reception. 

The participating artists are:  Mary Collar, Victoria Fugit, Sarah Hamingson, Peggy Harty, Margie Lopez-Read,
Marsha Modine, Thea Nordling, Charlotte Quigley, and Larry Thomas. 

Dead Horse Point is located nine miles north of Moab on US 191, and 23 miles south on SR313. The visitor center is open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Park admission is $15 per vehicle for three days. For more information, please contact the park at (435) 259-2614.

  Winter Canyons by Victoria Fugit

  Mules Ear Daisies by Peggy Harty

  Desert Rain by Mary Collar

  Peaceful Evening in Chesler Park by Thea Nordling

  Hidden Garden by Marsha Modine

  Mule House Fire by Margie Lopez-Read

Stop by Gallery Moab and see the beautiful Art that our Pastel artists have made. Or match the beauty of their art with a ride to Dead Horse State Park. The natural wonder and beauty of the park along with the captured beauty of the Moab Pastels Guild 's paintings.