Artist
This website is dedicated to my mother-in-law, Mary Geyer Berry. She loved to paint, and I feel that her work deserves to live on for everyone to enjoy. She was prolific in her painting, and we’ve gathered and photographed many of her works. More will be added in the future.
For now, please enjoy these beautiful landscapes and portraits.
– Connie Nassios
December 10, 2017
Mary Geyer Berry (1926-2015) was a mid-western artist working in the Pastel medium. She was a graduate of Eastern Michigan University with a major in fine arts, and was a charter member and first President of the Kalamazoo Area Pastel Society.
Note: Mary Geyer Berry was passionate about her art medium and wrote this piece to educate people about pastels
Pastel is pure pigment, the same pigment used in making all fine art paints. It is the most permanent of all media, when applied to conservation ground and properly framed. Pastel has no liquid binder that may cause other media to darken, face, yellow, crack, or blister with time. Pastels from the 16th century exist today, as fresh as the day they were painted. No restoration needed, ever.
Pastel does not at all refer to pale colors, as the word is commonly used in cosmetic and fashion terminology. The name pastel comes from the French work “pastische” because the pure, powdered pigment is ground into a paste, with a small amount of gum biner, and then rolled into sticks. The infinite variety of colors in the pastel palette range from soft and subtle to bold and brilliant.
An artwork is created by stroking the sticks of dry pigment across an abrasive ground, embedding the color in the “tooth” of the pater, sandboard, or canvas. It the ground is completely covered with pastel, the work is considered a Pastel painting; leaving much of the ground exposed produces a Pastel sketch. Thecniques vary with individual artists. pastels can be blended or used with visible strokes. The medium is favored by many artists because it allows a spontaneous approach. There is no drying time, and no allownaces to be made for a change in color due to drying.
A particle of pastel pigment, suspended in gum tragacanth, seen under a microscope, looks like a diamon with many facets. Therefore, pastel paintings reflect light like a prism. No other medium has the same power of color or stability. Pastel does not oxidize with the passage of time.
Historically, Pastel can be traced back to the 16th century. Its invention is attributed to the German painter Johann Thiele. A ventian woman artist, Rosalba Carriers was the first to make consistent use of pastel. Chardin did portraits with an open stroke, while LaTour preferred the blended finish. Thereafter a galaxy of famous artists…Watteau, Copley, Delacroix, Millet, Hassam, William Meritt Chase…just to list the more familiar names, used pastel as finished work rather than preliminary sketches.
Edgar Degas was the most prolific user of pastel, and its champion. His protege, Mary Cassatt introduced the impressionists and pastels to her friend in the United States. In the spring of 1983 Sotheby Parke Bernet sold at auction two Degas pastels for more than $3,000,000 each. Both were painted about 1880.
Today pastel paintings have the stature of oil and watercolor as a major fine art medium. Many of our most renownded artists have distinguished themselves in pastel, and enriched the art world with this beautiful medium.
Note: Pastel must never be confused with colored chalk. Chalk is a Limestone substance impregnated with dyes.
If you’d like more information about Mary or any of her paintings, don’t hesitate to contact me via the form below:
