The Pastel Journal, February 2011 Sample - Artist's Network

Marsha Hamby SavageSOUTHERN MYSTIQUEGeorgia artist Marsha Hamby Savage has alwaysbeen an admirer of the natural world. “Some ofmy earliest memories,” she says, “are of takingoff my shoes and wading in a creek, pickingup a pretty rock, looking at the moss and runningmy hands over it. There’s something aboutmoss that just makes me want to feel it.”The moss is characteristic of a landscapethat is shrouded in green. “The South has gentlerolling hills, mountains and pastures coveredwith many shades of green and no relief fromwarmer earth colors,” says Savage. “It seemseverything is tinged with some type of green.Every time I paint en plein air, I’m confrontedwith a different green than I saw the last time; Ican hardly believe there is yet another shade.”The respite, of course, occurs in the sky,which, according to the artist, is often tingedwith pink, lavender or yellow where it meetsthe horizon. “Although many times we don’t getto see as much sky,” she points out, “becauseof the abundance of trees. It has an intimatefeeling compared to the vast landscapes of ourmiddle and western states.”For Mossy Creek (below), which depicts ascene in the North Georgia Mountains, theartist used Terry Ludwig pastels, her favorite,on Ampersand Pastelbord, a surface whichallows for a watercolor underpainting. Shealso chose this surface—with a watercolorunderpainting—for Shadow and Moss (opposite),a studio pastel based on reference material fromMossy Creek (9x12)22 The Pastel Journal • February 2011