I began using pastels for my 'finished' work when I realized that the pastel studies I was doing for the intended acrylic paintings on canvas were actually more vibrant and energetic and filled with much more movement and spontaneity than any of my finished acrylic pieces. The first pastel landscape that I framed as a finished piece was appropriately titled 'Meeting the Path' and was a metaphor for the new direction I was taking. I haven't strayed from that path and continue to to be mesmerized by the beauty of applying pastel to paper. Like the landscapes before me, I tend to let the imagery of my work 'grow ' organicly from the underpainting upward through a process of layering, paying paticular attention to how light defines form. In that respect, I hope I have achieved some success. In recent years I have returned to painting in oils in addition to pastels, switching back and forth between mediums. I find that one often informs the other.
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Bill Puglisi joined Fine Art America on July 18th, 2011.
