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Art Scene: The Poetry Of Color

2025 Issues

If you have ever pressed a pastel stick to paper and felt its soft crumble give way to a bloom of color, you know the feeling: a whisper of pigment, the smudge of touch, and the quiet thrill of creation beginning. This tactile intimacy is exactly what draws so many artists to the medium, and it is taking center stage this October at Adventures in Pastel: 2025 National Exhibition, hosted by the MidAmerica Pastel Society (MAPS) at the Tim Murphy Art Gallery in Merriam, Kansas.

Pastels might conjure the softness of Degas’ ballerinas, but the works in Adventures in Pastel span the gamut from abstract explosions of color to nearly photographic realism. That variety reflects MAPS itself, which now counts 100 members across 21 states and even one in the United Kingdom. “You have a lot of artists who work abstractly, and a lot of artists who work photorealistically. Many are impressionistic. It does span styles and genres,” explained Michele Seeley, a Flint Hills-based artist who is chairing the exhibition.

For juror Nancie King Mertz, what elevates a pastel piece goes beyond surface brilliance. “Correct value—light to dark—correct perspective, and more. Good drawing skills are so important.” She is also quick to emphasize the medium’s versatility: “You can skim over the top, change the color, layer the color. As you develop your pastel skills, you learn to change the pressure, and learn a variety of strokes.” In addition to serving as a juror of selection and judge of the upcoming exhibit, she is being honored as the 2025 Pastel Society of America Hall of Fame Honoree.

No matter your approach to pastels, engaging with the medium itself is what the Adventures in Pastel exhibition is really about. “We try to get pastels in front of the public,” Michele said. “The paintings come alive when you are standing there in front of them.” Two particular works featured in the exhibit illustrate the medium’s reach:

Carlos “Chente” Tovar’s La Chona, a blazing yet serene portrait of his tía, the commanding center of every family gathering. “Her food? Fiery. Her salsas? Dangerous. Her spirit? Unshakable,” he wrote about the work.
Greg Stone’s Sunlit Descent, a landscape that invites the viewer to breathe deeper, slow down, and coexist with the glory of a waterfall: “Perhaps if we master this practice with a painting,” Greg wrote in his artist’s statement, “we can mimic that practice in the natural world around us.”

For Michele, her journey with MAPS began almost by accident. “I happened to be at a workshop in the Kansas City area back in 2017, and I had been struggling to find fellow pastel artists. I was trying to locate my tribe, and then ran into a couple of gals who have since become wonderful friends.” That sense of “tribe” is what the society fosters: through exhibitions, workshops, and even the Zoom meetings that kept members connected through COVID.

This fall, MAPS invites the public to get their hands dirty (or pigment-y) alongside MAPS members. Concurrent to the exhibition, Nancie will teach a two-day workshop, Paint What Scares You! on October 3rd and 4th. With live demonstrations and personal guidance, she will challenge artists to lean into the subjects that intimidate them most. Michele’s advice to emerging pastel artists? “Find good instruction. Always invest in the best quality materials that you can afford. Understand that it’s a journey.”

Adventures in Pastel promises both a discovery and delight for viewers this fall. The exhibition kicks off with an opening reception and awards ceremony on October 2nd. The show then unfolds both in-person and online, running through November 1, 2025.

With national talent, local leadership, and a medium that continues to surprise and inspire, this exhibition promises discovery, inspiration, and perhaps even a little pigment under your fingernails.

A selection of pieces in the 2025 upcoming exhibit:

Photo La Chona:

“La Chona” by Carlos “Chente” Tovar