Fran Gallun

After a decade working with mixed media and 3-D shapes—columns, alters, “relics”, and large, room-sized installations, I had a quick foray back to painting on canvas, and saw my vocabulary there as well: columns, monuments in the desert, “archeological sites”, ancient imaginary temples and ruins.

But painting was too slow, so I switched to pastels and began a long series of pastel work on paper. That felt like it was getting closer to the heart of the matter. Of course I didn’t know exactly what that might be. But I have seen over the years that often the art gets ahead of you (the artist), and with persistence, you’ll catch up.

I loved working fast, with brilliant color available immediately, no mixing, no drying.

Also at this time, I served as president of my synagogue congregation. I knew I had to keep up studio time, so the pastels worked well in that regard too; 3 hours in the studio could produce a new piece.

It’s true of all artists that they do many other things besides their art. The key is to—well, that’s what we each have to discover on our own. Hundreds of books have been written about honoring your work and the time to do it.