Featured Artist Vic Mastis

Artist Vic Mastis creates stunning, illuminated pastel paintings that glow with life. See more of her ethereal portfolio on her website.

 

 

My world led me to being an artist.

 

 

At a young age I knew I had a problem with reading and at that time, there was not a diagnosis for it. The only thing I could do well was draw—I felt at home in that environment. When, in seventh grade, I won a first-place award with a drawing, I knew that was all I wanted to do.

 

 

In high school, I landed a summer job drawing portraits in pastel and charcoal at Six Flags over Mid America. I got a lot of practice in my three years of employment.

 

 

I had to interrupt my art career for ten years because I was busy with husband, kids and owning a beauty salon. At age forty-two, I found out I had breast cancer. As therapy, the art supplies came out of storage—and there were my pastels!

 

 

I attended the pastel convention in Kansas City, Missouri. There were so many pastelists, classes and vendors there! So much had changed in the pastel world. They were making sanded paper and softer pastels. I was hooked a second time. I started Gateway Pastel Artists right outside St. Louis, Missouri. We brought in big name pastel artists from different parts of the United States for workshops. I learned so much from them.

 

 

After my battle with cancer, I painted a series depicting the experience of cancer—the frightening experience of realizing I had cancer, the bottle I put needles in from the daily shot, images of me and my wig—these were just a few of those paintings. Once I finally got through cancer and my hair started growing out, I wanted to paint beautiful things like peaceful moments in nature to help my viewers escape into a serene state of being.

 

 

I love how the light glows through flowers and their petals making them almost translucent. I believe that when the sun shines on a flower it must feel all that warmth. I try to capture what I think they are feeling.

 

 

Flowers can’t grow without light, so I try to emphasize the effect the light is creating by using pan pastels, which I recently discovered. They are like soft pastels but in a container like face powder. Special sponge tools called soft tools are needed to apply them. I combine the pan pastels with soft and semi-soft pastels on sanded paper to get the glowing effect I desire.

 

 

Everything in the universe has molecules and atoms that are constantly moving and changing. Sometimes I use the pan pastels or soft pastels with glitter to help give the painting a moving effect. Sometimes I add a little ink to make some of the translucent stems and leaves.

 

 

I love the colors and distinctive shapes the flowers make, then add touches to make them my own.

 

Artist Vic Mastis invites you to follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

 

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