Margaret Dyer

Search terms: painting, pastels, figurative, portrait

About My Work:

In the June 2002 issue of The Artists Magazine, the author wrote of Margaret:

"Dyer is adamant about what she wants to portray: beautiful not overtly provocative figures in action. She tries to avoid languid, sentimental posturing, and prefers to show her model in an unguarded moment, when she is not worrying about the right pose. Dyers attention is caught by telling gestures, such as a direct gaze or a hand on a hip. Above all, Dyer seeks to establish an atmosphere and mood particular to the developing pastel."

"Margaret Dyer is a Master Pastelist with the Pastel Society of America. She is represented in galleries and collections, and teaches pastel workshops across the United States."

About Me:

At a moment in 1970, when a model dropped her robe and stood naked in front of a class of wide-eyed eighteen year old art students, I found something in life I loved the challenge to draw the living, breathing, continuously moving landscape of the human body. What started out as a challenge quickly became a passion.

The subjects of my paintings are almost always people. They're my daughters, sisters, friends, and sometimes just a passer-by who caught my attention and was not frightened by my proposition to paint her. Every once in a while you'll see a bald guy - that's my husband (believe it or not, his paintings sell surprisingly quickly).

After painting with pastels for over 20 years, I recently started painting with oils. It's a whole new animal for me, one that will most likely take me 20 more years to learn. But what joy it is to see a new world open up to me - so much to learn. I can't wait to get back into the studio.

Featured in these books:

Pure Color - The Best of Pastels 2006; 100 Ways to Paint People and Figures, Volume 2; 100 Ways to Paint People and Figures, Volume 1.

Featured in these magazines:

The Pastel Journal; International Artist Magazine; Pastel Highlights 2; The Artists' Magazine; American Artist ;Pastel Artist International.