Max Mallie's Blog: Pastel Journal Award of Excellence Winner

In his marvelous and large-scale pastel painting, Doris, Portugese artist Manuel Rodrigues Almeida has painted, not just a portrait, but an emotional moment The painting measures nearly 5 feet to a side—well over life size, fully immersing viewers in its somber scene of a woman who seems to be fighting, and failing, to hold back tears. “I tend to admire works done on a large scale and the impact they have compared to our own size,” says the artist, who hails from Viana do Castelo, a coastal city in northern Portugal. “That’s the experience I try to provide for the viewer by doing these larger works.”

You can read more about the prizewinning artist and the other Pastel 100 award-winners in the April 2016 issue of Pastel Journal, on sale here.