Artist Statement My paintings reflect my love for the landscape, its natural beauty and many moods. My subjects can vary from broad vistas to intimate portraits of rocks or trees. I am fascinated by how commonplace subjects can be dramatically transformed depending on the time of day or season. I work primarily in pastel because its remarkable range of color, texture and immediacy allows me to respond directly to the emotion I feel when painting from life. About The Artist Ed considers himself primarily a self taught artist. In college, he took classes such as Life Drawing and Drawing Fundamentals while pursuing his Chemical Engineering Degree from the University of Michigan. He supplemented his art education by studying art magazines, books and visiting museums whenever possible. It was through an art magazine that Ed was introduced to Albert Handell and his wonderful pastel paintings. Soon after, Ed purchased his first set of pastels and never looked back. Ed also began oil painting during this time but focused more heavily on pastels until recently. Now Ed paints both in oil and pastel, although pastel remains his favorite. Ed believes that fundamentals such as drawing create a broad foundation for great art in any of media. In keeping with this thinking, Ed sketches daily in addition to painting. He has studied to broaden his knowledge and deepen his understanding of color, values and edges to create his paintings. In oil, he works with a limited palette of oil colors - cadmium yellow pale, ultramarine blue, cadmium red and white. Ed can mix almost any color from this basic set. Pastels, however, cannot be mixed in the same manner and therefore, require greater variety and quantities. Still, Ed's pastel palette would be considered limited by other pastellists. His understanding of how to mix various colors with oil paints has enabled Ed to work with a limited palette of pastel sticks. Today, Ed continues his art education by attending workshops, working with other artists, and through books, magazines and DVDs. He has attended the workshops of artists including Scott Christensen, Albert Handell, Anita Louis West, and Richard McDaniel. He considers himself fortunate to have spent the day watching Richard Schmid and Albert Handell paint together in Vermont. Ed is an active member of the Williamsville Art Society near his home in Williamsville, New York. He also posts demonstrations and interacts with other artists as a member of WetCanvas, an online artist community.