Capturing Memories in Pastel

Old family photographs are California artist Deborah Matlack's chief inspiration. "The past intrigues me," she says. "I have always felt great respect for the older people in my life and have enjoyed the stories of their lives." At 73, Matlack harnesses her memories in evocative pastels that explore what it might have been like to live in a different time. "Things go so fast now," the artist remarks. "In the past things moved slower and impressions lasted longer. I like to capture that nostalgia."

Best known as a portraitist, Matlack believes that there is no subject more inspiring than an individual. The most interesting subjects, she finds, begin in her own memories. Rather than troll family albums for inspiration, Matlack is guided by the passage of her thoughts. "It is not as if I search for a photograph to work from," she explains. "Instead, I think about someone special?maybe because of a celebration?and then I remember a photograph in the family album. Strawberry Blonde, for instance, is a painting of my grandmother's cousin. When I knew her, she had wrinkled skin and gray hair but was still very beautiful. I wanted to bring her alive?someone who died 60 years ago. It was her freshness, her youth, and her playful innocence that captivated me and that's what I wanted to capture in the painting."

Before she begins a painting, or even makes a preliminary sketch, Matlack pictures herself back in time. This exercise helps her translate a black-and-white photograph into color. The artist will often combine a photograph of her subject with her memories of other people. Lost in Time, for example, was inspired by a photograph of Matlack's great-uncle, Joe. The painting, which casts the youthful grace of a young man with palpable sensitivity, is an attempt to meld the expressions of different men in the artist's life with her memories of her great-uncle. "I will try to arrange the composition so that it is in character with the person who is portrayed," Matlack says. "My great-uncle had characteristics that I admired: dignity, gentleness, and composure. This pose helped to express them."

The artist's next step is to draft a series of sketches. She is quick to emphasize, however, that she does not spend too much time on this stage. "I don't make a lot of sketches, because I'm impatient," the artist admits. "I want to get on with it. Too much planning can dampen my enthusiasm." For portraits, Matlack makes a careful drawing in hard pastel, while sketches for her landscapes and interiors allow the artist to block in major areas and establish forms more broadly.

Working on a large sheet of pastel paper, Matlack covers the surface with pastel and, if needed, an alcohol or acrylic wash to tone the paper. She prefers to work on Wallis pastel paper, as she finds it holds the most pastel and allows her to