Bill Cone gave a delightful talk this past Thursday evening at the Studio Gallery in San Francisco. For the past fifteen years he has been producing pastel paintings and he spoke about the landscapes in the show and his techniques. He praised the portability and using ease of pastels while also the fragility of the medium since it can easily smear and has to be presented under glass. His advice to the artists in the audience was to make your art-creating something you do on a daily basis and can work into your routine. Wake up a little earlier and paint for an hour, or stop by to paint a scenic spot on your way to work. You can see Cone’s work at his blog at http://billcone.blogspot.com.