Pastelist

While you were mark making...

In this issue

Remembering some "Best of Show" Winners

APS Welcomes Christine Debrosky

Still Very Good Advice by Natasha Isenhour

Introducing a New Partnership...JGallery

Please Welcome our New Members - 71 Total

Diana Burns - Hot Springs, AR

Patty Lovelace - Marshall, TX

Member Gallery Update

2026 Calendar at a Glance

Celebrating The Best

of the Best!

Let's take a trip down memory lane and revisit

some of our finest moments.

And AJME Celebrating Pastels!

Best of Show for 2026...

We strongly encourage ALL of our members to enter their best work within the last two years. This exhibition is

the highlight of the APS Calendar. Win, lose

or draw, be a part of the legacy. You have 5 more

days to enter. Revive that painting you

haven't finished...the one you still believe in.

APS Welcomes our 2026

Juror and Judge of Awards

Christine Debrosky

Christine Debrosky relocated to northern Arizona to paint its brilliant sunlight, a move that continues to inspire her exploration of color, form, and atmosphere. Raised in New York's Hudson Valley, with early access to Manhattan's world-class museums, she developed a strong artistic foundation. Her career gained early recognition when Lowry Sims, curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, praised her work. A later shift to pastel brought a more impressionist style and led to numerous awards and exhibitions. She has earned signature status with the American Impressionist Society and American Women Artists, is an artist member of the California Art Club, and was inducted into the Master Circle of the International Association of Pastel Societies. Her paintings have appeared in leading publications including American Artist, The Pastel Journal, Southwest Art, and PleinAir Magazine, and are held in corporate and university collections worldwide.

From her Sedona studio, overlooking the red rocks,

she continues to paint the light of the Southwest and has shared her expertise for more than 30 years across the U.S. and in Europe.

Awards to be Presented:

Best of Show $500

Second in Show $400

Third in Show $300

(2) Outstanding Merit $100

Emerging Artist Award

Britta Herzog Creativity Award

(4) Merchant Awards

Janis Langley People's Choice Award

We are in the home stretch sliding into home. You have until Monday, January 5, 2026 midnight DEADLINE to submit your entries. Notification Letters go out Friday, January 9, 2026. You will have 24 days to frame your work. Deliver art to A05 Monday and Tuesday February 2nd and 3rd from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm.

The Awards Ceremony starts at 4:00 pm on Friday, February 6th, 2026. Your collectors, friends and families are most welcome.

Christine will also be our Workshop instructor in conjunction with the exhibition on Saturday and Sunday February 7th and 8th at the Cordovan Art School SW. If you enjoy impressionism, here is your chance to work with one of the best! There are 2 seats available.

ShowSubmit

Workshop Registration

Still Good Advice from Natasha Isenhour

Competition, great word with reference to sports, frankly, pretty cringeworthy to me with regard to Art. When I enter a "competition" I go into it knowing, there is no loser. I lose nothing by entering. The only thing my painting can possibly be in competition with is the last painting that I painted. So, if my work happens to stand out to a judge, it's because the planets aligned.

I crossed all my T's and dotted all my I's in terms of composition, technique and other time-honored elements of a "great" painting that the particular judge holds as a priority.
I managed to get across my emotion about the subject and fortunately this particular judge managed to resonate with that.

That pretty much sums up how to come out with a win. Over-simplified of course as there are dozens of other considerations that factor in. But you get the gist. So, if I "win," great! If I don't, then well, nothing! I cannot take it personally, and I cannot categorically say I had a bad entry (see above items 1 and 2).

So, here is how I handle competitions...

I enter only my best work.
I support local shows but mostly aim for big shows I feel are going to be difficult to get into.
I embrace rejection (of course I'd much rather have my painting recognized). I look at what gets in/wins and study the attributes of those works.
I KEEP DOING IT!

Believe in what you do and if you want in a show badly enough, start entering right now and don't stop until you get in. Do NOT put all your eggs in one basket. Branch out, try lots of things! After all, there is no loser, but you only have an opportunity to win if you stick your neck out there.

A reprint from April 2025 Pastelist

New Partnership and "Call for Art"

As part of Reimaging APS we sought out opportunities to get our members' art in front of more audiences. The Visual Arts League with the Jewish Community Center of Austin (JCCA) answered that call. We are going to have a very busy spring! Exclusive to APS, the show titled: "The Pastel Spectrum: Expanding the Boundaries, is a curated show. They are seeking works that respond to the 'growth' theme that may depict anything from plants to portraits and even skylines. They are envisioning that the show will bring familiar traditional paintings as well as taking the pastel medium even further into the abstract. We have posted their invitation on our website and you

can learn more by clicking on the link below. Alison Suttle, our Vice President and Programs Chair, will help you navigate through this wonderful opportunity. VAL is rolling out the red carpet for APS and our medium. Not only are they seeking artwork, but they would like to have demonstrations in the medium and speakers too. We hope many of you will want to participate in their gracious invitation.

The Pastel Spectrum

Enter Show Here

Member Gallery Update

This is your call for updating your Member Gallery listing. Now is the time to refresh. We update twice a year: January and August. If you would like to change out artwork, bio copy and links...NOW IS THE TIME. If you haven't participated before, we encourage you to consider showcasing your art. Our media is designed to market not only APS but our members' art also. Send your NEW content, i.e., JPEG images and copy to Editor

2026 Calendar at a Glance

For details visit APS website Events

Pay special attention to our "RED HOT" action items!

January 1 - March 8 - "The Pastel Spectrum" CALL FOR ART. The invitation from VAL can be read Here

January 5 - Celebrating Pastels! Entry Deadline

January 9 - Notifications letters go out. TIME TO FRAME!

January 17 - Board Meeting - Officers and Past Presidents - Signe's home

February 2 & 3 Artists Deliver paintings 1 - 3 pm to A05 Gallery

February 6 - Celebrating Pastels! Award Ceremony A05 Gallery 4:00 pm

February 7 & 8 - Christine Debrosky Workshop at Cordovan Art School

February 25 Celebrating Pastels closes

February 26 & 27 - Pick up artworks at A05

March 8 - Deadline for "Pastel Spectrum"

March 10 - Notifications mailed.

March 21 - General Meeting with Demonstration - Location and Artist TBA

April 13 - July 8 - "The Pastel Spectrum" Show at JCCA Toby Shor JGallery

April 16 - Reception for "Pastel Spectrum" Demos and Speakers included

May - Spring Plein Air Event to be decided at General Meeting in March

June - Call for Entries Online Member's Exhibition (Non-Juried)

June 17 thru 21, 2026 IAPS Convention Albuquerque, NM Register Here

**Looking for someone to conduct a Mini Workshop. Contact: Signe Cox

We welcome all ideas for an event. Please Send to Alison Suttle, VP and Program Chair.

2025-2027 Officers

Signe Cox, President

Alison Suttle, Vice President & Program Chair

Sarah Tacker, Treasurer (Retires May 31, 2026)

Valinda "Lindy" Rustam, Secretary & Membership Chair

Newsletter Submissions

Pastelist is published monthly and distributed to APS Members only. Deadline for February 2026 edition copy and photos is January 30, 2026. Send copy and JPEG images to Editor