Pastels on View Through Labor Day

Pastels by K.C. Grieder of Morris Township are adding a colorful glow to the walls of the The exhibit, entitled "Earth and Sky: Farm, Field and Garden," will be on display through Labor Day.

Grieder said she loves working in pastels because they combine the richness of oils with the immediacy of sketching. Her favorite subjects are beautiful outdoor scenes, particularly those in Morris County.

"I moved here from New York City," she said. "How could you not be taken by the beauty of this area?"

Grieder admits that she was not too excited at first about the idea of leaving New York. "It was great being in the city as a young single woman," she said. After she married, however, her husband wanted to move to the suburbs.

"I agreed to go if we could leave in year three," she said. "We've been here more than 20 years and now you couldn't drag me out of here."

Despite the sophistication of her work, Grieder said she has only been painting seriously for about five years. She said some of her best art training came, strangely enough, in her college botany class. 

"I had, as one of my professors, Dr. Benjamin Blackburn, a botanist who taught in the Edwardian manner. We learned by drawing. That was some of the best art training anyone can get."

Grieder said she is working on a series of pastels that had an unusual beginning. She was in an accident and, while recuperating, she said, she spent a lot of time on her glassed-in porch.

She said she was "feeling really sorry for myself," until she started looking up at the skylight and noticing all the beautiful clouds that went by.

"I love to paint clouds," she said, "but they don't hold still." She said she often snaps photos to capture the moment. 

Grieder said she enjoys displaying her work because it might inspire someone to look more closely at their surroundings. "What pleases me is that I might get someone to stop and look. We are so richly blessed in this area."