PROCESS
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Izzy's beloved pastels, alongside the wonderful bullshit that she keeps in her studio to prick, stab, split, and fill Bananas, among other things. (2026)
WHAT MATERIALS DO YOU USE?
WHAT MATERIALS DO YOU USE?
"I USE PASTELS - soft pastels on a prepared wood surface, to be specific. Lately, I've been working a lot with shaped plywood panels - first I cut out the shape that I want with a jigsaw, and then I apply a few solid layers of clear pumice gel/pastel ground to the surface of the panel. I like to draw using Sennelier soft pastels, and Terry Ludwig soft pastels, and I have to give an honorable mention to Schminke soft pastels, too. I'm definitely not sponsored by any of these brands, either - I wish I was! These are just the materials that I use and I like them a lot."
Dusty pastels in the studio (2026)
Dusty pastels in the studio (2026)
Izzy's favorite red pastel
Izzy's favorite red pastel
WHY DO YOU MAKE ART?
WHY DO YOU MAKE ART?
"I make art because...
I'm Bananas. Hahahaha.
No, really - you have to be a little wacky to make good art, and I definitley fit that description. There are always old, screwed up bananas and other foodstuffs in my refrigerator, and really - what else am I supposed to do with them?
Izzy standing next to her pastel painting, Spread (ButterKnife) at a Juried Exhibition at the Arts Center of Greenwood in South Carolina (2024).
Izzy Losskarn relaxing in her MFA studio in at the Lamar Dodd School of Art in Athens, GA (2024).
HOW DO YOU KEEP THINGS FRESH IN THE STUDIO?
HOW DO YOU KEEP THINGS FRESH IN THE STUDIO?
"I keep my pastels as unorganized as possible!"
"That way, I am always looking for a new color, and over the course of a painting, my pigment table will develop small clusters of pastels which are representative of the color palettes for different areas of focus. For example, after drawing one of my Big Banana Splits, I will have accumulated several small piles relative to that subject: yellows and browns for the Banana peel, clusters of red and purple for the marischino cherry, and a barrage of blues for the Chiquita label."
Izzy touching-up Ripe & Reduced after installing her solo exhibition at Revolve Gallery in Asheville, NC (2023).
Izzy working on finishing her drawing, Lure, in her home studio in Asheville, NC (2023).
DO YOU SPRAY-FIX YOUR PASTEL PIECES?
DO YOU SPRAY-FIX YOUR PASTEL PIECES?
"This is a loaded question!"
As a pastelist, people ask me a lot about sprayable fixative - I don't use it unless I absoluetly have to. There is a long history of discourse on the subject of fixative in relation to pastels, and many artists (myself included) do not like the way fixative alters the coloration and texture of pastel artwork."
"When I do apply fixative, I use avoid resin-based sprays, and instead use a combination of casein and clear odorless alcohol, which is non-toxic. I typically only do this if a pastel work is going to be installed in a really high-traffic area, that I can't access to touch things up, or if a piece is going travel for more than four hours in the car for exhbition or install (which happens often) - this protects the pigment layers from vibrations - and then I touch up the piece with a fresh layer of pastel on arrival."
"I layer my pastels very thick on the surface (this is why I use a textured paper, or coarsely prepared wood panels), and because of this, sprayable fixative doesn't have much of an effect on my pieces, other than making them more difficult to touch up before or after installing an exhibition (Ha). So I prefer to take my chances and maintain the ability to add pastel whenever I need to!"
Works in progress in Losskarn's studio in Athens, GA (2024).
Tools of the trade: a worn-down Terry Ludwig pastel.
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