Venus c. 1934

Rolf Armstrong created this image, Venus, using pastel. The blue and green palette might seem simple, but look closer, and you'll see it's all about the subtle variations. This piece has a certain softness, doesn’t it? The pastel strokes create a dreamy, almost hazy effect. It's like Armstrong is playing with the idea of beauty as something ethereal and not quite tangible. Notice how the strokes around the figure are loose and free, giving a sense of movement. And then there’s the texture; you can almost feel the grain of the pastel on the paper. The shadow, a ghostly rendering of the figure, seems to be sinking into the blue. Armstrong's work makes me think a little of pin-up artist Gil Elvgren, who also used a limited palette to create really evocative imagery. These guys remind us that art doesn't always have to be about complexity; sometimes, it's about capturing a feeling, a mood, with just a few simple marks.