Feminist Statements
By M. Stephen Doherty
For an article in American Artist
The figurative pastel paintings Helen Vaughn has created over the past years are in part autobiographical, but in a larger sense they are celebrations of the many aspects of womanhood. “They are glimpses of unguarded moments that occur in quiet, interior settings,” she explains. “It’s a visual way to look at an interval in a woman’s life.”
“I love to celebrate women. I am particularly interested in connecting with women of my generation (I’m 57 years old) who had more opportunities than their mothers but fewer opportunities than their daughters,” she continues. “This has meant that we saw possibilities in conjunction with the feminist movement and were at an age to easily take advantage of them. I visually approach these issues from a feminist perspective. And I honor women as wonderful friends, peers and mentors.”
Asked why she created these images primarily in pastel, Vaughn explains, “When I returned to college after my children started school, I worked primarily in oil. That became less and less satisfying to me because I love to draw and the paintbrush didn’t allow for the same kind of direct, graphic expression of charcoal or graphite. Then about 11 years ago I switched to pastel and had an immediate response that felt much more authentic.”
Vaughn creates these pictures in her Huntsville, Alabama, studio in an 1840 building that has been divided into five studios for graphic designers and artists. She hires models to pose in the studio for several hours at a time while she takes photographs and makes quick drawings. “I usually have a preconceived idea of the pose, the props to place around the figure, and the lighting,” she explains. “I have an idea simmering in my mind about a pose or a lighting situation that would express something about women. I pose the model in that situation and take dozens of photographs from different angles, adding or removing objects as seems appropriate. Sometimes the model takes an unexpected pose and I work with that.”
Vaughn begins her painting process by coating a sheet of museum board with a mixture of gesso, pumice to add texture, and earth-colored acrylic paint to establish a tone. Once the board is dry, she makes a line drawing of her composition with Conte crayon. She uses hard Nupastels and pastel pencils to establish the first layer of local color, and then switches to softer Rembrandt and Sennelier pastels to refine the picture. Once she has finished the painting, she applies a light mist of fixative over the entire piece.
While figurative images of women have been a central focus of her work for the past 20 years, Vaughn has also created many still lifes and landscapes in pastel. “The figure is the most intellectually challenging subject, but I enjoy dealing with the problems and opportunities of painting other kinds of pictures,” she explains. “Landscapes permit me to be completely spontaneous because elements can be moved at will, and still lifes afford the opportunity to deal with the formal relationships between objects.”
“The figurative pastel paintings Helen J. Vaughn has created over the past eleven years are in part autobiographical, but in a larger sense they are celebrations of the many aspects of womanhood.”
— M. Stephen Doherty
American Artist Magazine