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By Kathaleen Roberts / Journal Staff Writer Published: Friday, September 2nd, 2022 at 2:02PM Updated: Sunday, September 4th, 2022 at 12:02AM

Pastels are the only art form combining painting with drawing.

These stick blends of powdered pigment and binder can produce drawings as well as paintings resembling oils.

The Millicent Rogers Museum is hosting the 30th Annual National Pastel Painting Exhibition through Sept. 21. The show features 116 paintings, with 66 featured at the museum, and the entirety available online at pastelsnm.org. Artworks include landscapes, portraits, imagined scenes and more.

Although the bulk of the artists come from New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and Texas, some international artists hail from as far away as China.

“It’s one of the more renowned national shows in the country,” exhibition chair and exhibiting artist Nicholas Tesluk said.

Most pastel artists cringe at the word “chalk,” a common confusion, he said.

“Chalk is made of gypsum. It has fleeting colors. If you took the powdered paint of oil or watercolor, that’s exactly the same thing pastels are made of. You can get vivid or subdued colors.”

Albuquerque artist Sarah Blumenschein is a regular participant in the show. She has been working in pastels for about 20 years.

“I have four kids,” she explained. “I wanted to start painting and pastels are a lot easier than oils with kids; you can just leave it.”

She used to work at Intel.

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“I started in college as an art major, but switched to engineering because I was worried about not having a job,” she said.

After she gave birth to her third child, she quit work and began taking pastel workshops.

Her piece “Sunflowers on My Rock Wall” began with a photograph.

“I do a lot of florals,” she said, “and particularly sunflowers. They’re just so happy.

“I was getting tired of setting something up in my studio, so I thought I would take it outside. It was the idea of the sunflowers and the sunshine.”

Blumenschein also shows her work at Weems Gallery. In September, she will take part in New York’s Pastel Society of America exhibition.

In “Master Artisans,” Tesluk captured a bowl of intricately decorated Ukrainian eggs.

“I’ve been an artist for 30 yeas,” the Edgewood artist said. “I started in oil. In the ’90s, I switched to pastels. With oil paint you have to plan that it’s going to dry dark. With pastels, it’s exactly the same” as it started.

He painted the eggs in tribute to his Ukrainian grandmother, who used to bring them to Easter celebrations.

“It’s part of my heritage,” he said. “I thought I could only emulate what these artists do. A lot of these are done by peasant women.”

Marilyn Drake graduated from New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology and owned her own graphic design business.

“I always did artwork or something connected to artwork,” the Albuquerque resident said.

After moving to New Mexico in 1994, Drake continued her graphic design work but felt the pull toward fine art. She decided on pastels because they were quick.

“I just fell in love with working with pastel,” she said. “I love the combination of being able to draw and paint simultaneously.”

The sailor portrait “He Saw the Sea” emerged from a weekly drawing group.

“He had been in the U.S. Navy and he came with his sailor suit, his uniform,” Drake said. “I love the sailor hat and his neckerchief.”

Drake also creates plein air (outdoor) landscapes.

“I hadn’t drawn figures since I was at school majoring in fashion illustration and advertising design,” she said.

Drake is a signature member of the Pastel Society of New Mexico, meaning she has accumulated points by being accepted into national exhibitions. She has shown her work in the Masterworks New Mexico exhibition, at the New Mexico Art League and at the New Mexico State Fair.

30th National Pastel Painting Exhibition WHERE: Millicent Rogers Museum, 1504 Millicent Rogers Road, El Prado

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, through Sept. 21

HOW MUCH: $12 general; $15 docent tour; free museum members, veterans, children (12 and under); at 575-758-2462, millicentrogers.org