Creating Emphasis

Working from dark to light colors, Pamela Hamilton’s pastel paintings feature the smallest and brightest marks at the focal point

- Pamela Hamilton

January Thaw, pastels, 10 x 8 (25 x 20 cm)

In January of 2020, we had an unseasonably warm New Year’s Day meeting most of December’s snow. My husband and I booted up and went for a winter walk through a nearby forest preserve where I stopped to take photos of the brilliant blue sky reflecting into the pools of melting snow. I exaggerated the orange in the background trees to complement the strong blue in the foreground and used small abstract marks in various shades directly below the brightest snow to create visual interest.

The twists and turns of my life and career shaped my perspective and technique. As a toddler, I painted the side of my father’s car with house paint and would stick my hands in my mom’s plants and use the soil to paint the walls. I did my first oil painting when I was 14, on my own, with no instruction, using a Sears catalog art supply kit.

At age 18, I attended Chicago’s School of the Art Institute for a year, then left to marry and start a family. Three kids and a divorce later, I returned to school to study graphic design while working several jobs. Eventually, I became art director for a national magazine, mastering production and design. My experiences in life came together in 2012 when I made the leap of faith decision to pursue art full time.