Dina Gardner has always been fascinated by how artists, whether they are painters, musicians, writers or anyone with artistic gifts, work through their creative process. She is fascinated that the process of 'creating' is different for every artist, regardless of their medium.
Her process for painting with pastels starts with music and her musical taste is wide and varied. Once the music is on in her studio, there is a lot of singing and dancing (neither done particularly well) that happens while she paints. She usually works from a photograph which she sketches on a sanded piece of pastel paper. She takes a lot of creative license, often adding or deleting objects in the photograph. Dina’s first layer, commonly referred to as the underpainting, is applied in dry pastel and then washed down with a paintbrush dipped in alcohol. Once this layer dries, she lays down layer upon layer of pastel, often letting the original underpainting peek through. Once in a while there are happy accidents. Sometimes there are tragic outcomes. But all the time she is grateful that she found this creative outlet at this stage of her life.
Dina’s paintings reflect objects she is drawn to: oceans and water, skies and clouds, trees, rock formations, marshes and meadows. When she paints from a photo reference or even when painting plein air, she is not painting what the subject looks like but rather what her response is to the subject.
Dina splits her time between Boston, MA, where she has lived for more than 40 years and her home in Manhattan Beach, CA, close to where she was raised. Both places provide her with inspiration and untold amounts of visual stimulation. Dina’s goal is to capture the beauty she observes around her and to express that beauty through her paintings.
Morning Swim - Coastal Pastel Painting
By Dina Gardner
Located in Boston, MA
Morning Swim 8.0 × 8.0 × 1.0, 2.0 lbs Pastel on archival paper Hand signed by the artist Artist's Commentary: "I saw these swimmers this morning eyeing the water with a bit of tr...
Pastel
The Ballerina
By Pierre Carrier-Belleuse
Located in Wiscasett, ME
Pastel on canvas, signed lower right, measuring 38" x 48.25" including the frame. Pierre Carrier-Belleuse His first studies were with his father, the sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-...
Pastel
$7,950
H 33.25 in W 20.25 in D 3 in
“A Lady in Black, 1894” French Impressionist Portrait Pastel on Canvas Signed
Located in Yardley, PA
“A Lady in Black, 1894” by Paul-Marie Lapierre Renouard (1854-1940) This exceptional pastel portrait of an elegant woman in black is among the artist’s finest works. A close examina...
Canvas, Pastel
$1,200
H 10 in W 8 in
"The Arena" - Expressionist Soft Pastel Painting on Sanded Paper
By Jeff Slemons
Located in Denver, CO
Artist Statement: "What was she thinking to herself as she waited to go out into the open arena and perform. I had no idea of course. I could only imagine the adrenaline surge that s...
Paper, Pastel
$4,000
H 25.5 in W 26.5 in
"Pink Rope" - Expressionist Gouache Painting on Illustration Board
By Jeff Slemons
Located in Denver, CO
Artist Statement: "I find the behind the scenes action of more interest than the actual rodeo events themselves. Watching the men and women get ready with their horses before they go...
Paper, Pastel
$885,000
H 34.63 in W 26.38 in D 2.75 in
Smiling Sara in a Big Hat Holding Her Dog by Mary Cassatt
By Mary Cassatt
Located in New Orleans, LA
Mary Cassatt 1844–1926 American Smiling Sara in a Big Hat Holding Her Dog Signed "Mary Cassatt" (lower right) Pastel on paper “I love to paint children. They are so natural and t...
Paper, Pastel
$1,850
H 19.5 in W 25.5 in
Woman in Pink with Flowers, Acrylic and Pastel on Paper by Jose Canes
By Jose Canes (Dore)
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Jose Canes (aka Dore) Title: Woman in Pink with Flowers Medium: Acrylic and Pastel on Paper, signed "Dore" l.r. Year: circa 1980 Size: 19.5 x 25.5 inches
Paper, Pastel, Acrylic
$98,500
H 52 in W 26.25 in D 2.25 in
Danseuse By Pierre Carrier-Belleuse
By Pierre Carrier-Belleuse
Located in New Orleans, LA
Pierre Carrier-Belleuse 1851-1932 French Danseuse Signed “Pierre Carrier-Belleuse” (lower right) Pastel on canvas Strikingly elegant, this extraordinary pastel by French impressi...
Canvas, Pastel
Pelé Brazilian, footballer, Soccer Star, Illustration
By Bob Peak
Located in Miami, FL
Bob Peak is one of the true giants of post-war American Illustration. He is a virtuoso artist, with a heightened level of skill and talent that very few living artists today possess...
Pastel, Gouache
$13,500
H 18.5 in W 21.375 in
Early 20th century colorful seaside landscape pastel figures bench trees signed
By Francesco Spicuzza
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Couple on Bench at the Beach" is an original pastel drawing on paperboard by Francesco Spicuzza. The artist signed the piece in the lower left. This drawing depicts two figures sitting on a bench in front of a body of water. The artist used mostly pastel colors for this piece. 6 7/8" x 9 7/8" art 18 1/2" x 21 3/8" frame Francesco J. Spicuzza, born in Sicily on July 23, 1883, came to America at the age of 8. He supported himself as a fruit peddler until a newspaperman gave him $4 a week to go to school. He attended classes at the Milwaukee Art Students League, where he studied under Alexander Mueller. There he learned to paint in the then-fashionable "Munich School" technique, with detailed realism in heavy browns and grayed-out hues. Spicuzza completed eight grades in four years, and then in 1911, three businessmen advanced him enough money to allow him to study in New York under artist and teacher John Carlson. It was during this time that Spicuzza changed his style of painting, developing an impressionistic use of color, form and atmospheric renditions. After a period of grinding poverty, one of Spicuzza's pictures won a major New York competition. It was the first of 60 wins, both in the U.S. and Paris. He became a fashionable painter, and many of the leading collections have his work. Spicuzza's typical works were beach scenes, still life, landscapes and portraits done in pastels, oils, ink, charcoal and watercolors. Much of his work traced the history of Milwaukee in the early 1900s. He was probably best known for his scenes of women and children splashing in the waves...
Paper, Pastel, Board
$175,000
H 27.25 in W 24.75 in
Saturday Evening Post Cover, Evening Gown May 21st, 1938
By Neysa McMein
Located in Miami, FL
Pastel on board - Saturday Evening Post Cover, Evening Gown May 21st, 1938 - Reproduced version looks better because the Saturday Evening Post Art Director retouched the plates before printing and strengthened the colors to give it more newsstand appeal - Signed and inscribed lower left. Housed in an inexpensive period frame undlations to the board From Wiki : as an American illustrator and portrait painter who studied at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago and Art Students League of New York. She began her career as an illustrator and during World War I, she traveled across France entertaining military troops with Anita P...
Pastel
$3,800
H 26 in W 32 in
"Grazers" - Expressionist Soft Pastel Painting on Sanded Paper
By Jeff Slemons
Located in Denver, CO
Artist Statement: This little guy had a unique head structure. It looked a smidge too big. Maybe it's due to his young age. He was quite spirited and this particular afternoon was qu...
Paper, Pastel
$45,000
H 10.75 in W 14 in
Le Resesquement a l'Advocats (The Legal Reservation)
By Jean Louis Forain
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Le Resesquement a l'Advocats (The Legal Reservation) Pastel on paper, c. 1910 signed lower right Image size: 10 3/4 x 14 inches Frame size: 23-1/2 x 26-1/2 x 2-3/8 inches Condition: ...
Pastel
Repose
By Dina Gardner
Located in Boston, MA
Artist Commentary: The new series I'm creating features sheet music, some handwritten school notebook pages from France (dating from the 1800s) as well as charcoal, gesso, pastel an...
Pastel, Board