Blonde c. 1925

Rolf Armstrong made this pastel drawing, called ‘Blonde.’ It's all soft focus, like looking through a vintage lens. The beauty of pastel is in its directness. You’re holding pure pigment, dragging it right onto the surface. See how Armstrong lets the strokes show in the green ground and the shadows of her dark wrap? It’s not about hiding the process, but about building the form with layers of color. Now, look at the way he renders her face. There’s a gentle blurring, a kind of idealized vision. But then your eye snags on those bright red lips. BAM! A bold, almost cartoonish accent that brings the whole image into focus. It’s like he’s winking at us, acknowledging the artifice of beauty, the performance of glamour. And that little touch, that single gesture, pulls the entire composition together. It reminds me a bit of Tamara de Lempicka, but softer, sweeter. A different take on the same era. Art is always a conversation, right?