22nd Annual Mile High International Pastel Exhibition Catalog

THE PASTEL SOCIETY OF COLORADO presents the 22nd Annual Mile High Pastel Exhibition and Sale March 20-April 25, 2026

This collection of 96 original pastel paintings will be available to enjoy and purchase at Center for the Arts Evergreen

31880 Rocky Village Drive Evergreen, CO 80439

Gallery Hours T-F 9:00-5:00, Saturdays 10-4

EvergreenArts.org

303.674.0056

Pastel Society of Colorado

22nd Annual Mile High Pastel Exhibition pastelsocietyofcolorado.org

Opening Reception: Friday March 20, 6-8 pm Awards at 6:30 pm

The public is invited

Message from the Co-Chairs/Co-Presidents

of the 22nd Annual Mile High International Pastel Exhibit

Welcome to this exciting exhibit which manifests the versatility, vibrance and luminescence of soft pastel featuring 96 paintings by artists from many states in the United States plus Japan.

We thank our PSC Mile High 2026 Team for their efforts in promoting artist entries, event publicity, workshop logistics, venue coordination, graphic design, and sponsor solicitation. Many people-hours have gone into creating this exhibit, and we could not be prouder of our pastel tribe! Special thanks to Edi King and Shelly Brown who coordinated our sponsor requests and awards and to Jane Christie, our workshop coordinator.

Thank you, Juror and Judge Susan Kuznitsky, for selecting a diverse collection of paintings out of 269 of entries.

Thank you, Center for the Arts Evergreen, and Curator Chris Stevens, for your professional and technical support. Thank you for your commitment to art in the community and for welcoming us into your beautiful gallery.

Thank you, sponsors and donors. Your support of the PSC and the Mile High International Exhibition provide generous awards to the artists chosen for special recognition by our Judge. Please thank our sponsors, listed in the back of this catalog, by supporting them.

Thank you, artists, collectors, and visitors… for your support of the Pastel Society of Colorado. The paintings you enter, the ways you hone your craft, your pursuit of the beauty that calls you, the classes you offer, the volunteer hours, the art you purchase, all celebrate this exhibition and the PSC with joy and enthusiasm.

The PSC’s mission is to promote and educate artists and the public about wonderful medium of soft pastels. We offer regular monthly meetings, paint-outs in the Grand Junction, Northern Colorado and greater Denver Metro areas, monthly paint-alongs via Zoom, workshops, shows and much more.

Visit our website, www.PastelSocietyofColorado.org, to see our rich schedule of shows, meetings, and events, find artist gallery pages, educational resources, and more.

PASTEL SOCIETY OF COLORADO

22nd Annual Mile High Pastel Exhibition

March 20 - April 25, 2026

Susan Kuznitsky, Juror of Entries & Judge of Awards

Susan Kuznitsky is an accomplished, award-winning artist and a gifted teacher, comfortable working and teaching in oil, pastel and various drawing media. Her representational style is arresting, perceptive and dramatic without being staged.

After studying at American Academy of Art in Chicago, her hometown, Susan moved to Woodstock, New York, where she became the studio assistant for Master Artist Albert Handell. For the next two years Mr. Handell not only taught her about pastels and oils, but also how to teach.

Moving back to Chicago in the mid 1980’s Susan began painting at the Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Art with another living Master Painter, Richard Schmid.

In the early 1990’s Susan married and moved to the Pacific Northwest where she raised her family. She has and continued to paint and teach locally and nationally and internationally. Her Zoom classes and mentoring sessions have become very popular.

Susan is an IAPS Masters Pastelist as well as a Signature member the Pastel Society of America, the Pastel Society of the West Coast and the Northwest Pastel Society. She is also the founder and honorary member of the Chicago Pastel Painters (formally the Midwest Pastel Society).

Artist Statement

I’m always drawn to the moment when the light is most dramatic, often at the edges of our days, and how the relationships of color, composition and texture within each scene speaks a calmer, simpler place in my life. Viewing and painting these images allows me to find a more balanced center and revel in the beauty that exists around us. Sharing these emotional connections visually, by painting beautiful paintings is what my art is about. But for me, painting is just as much about the journey as it is about the finished piece. Each painting brings its own set of frustrations and challenges, which pushes me to grow and learn while giving me the pleasure of purely creating. My voice is constantly evolving. The more I paint the more I realize how much there still is to learn.

Porcelain and Silver

12x16 $900

Shelly Brown Last Stop

18x26 $650

Angela Bruskotter

The Road Less Traveled

18x18 $1215

Blu Sky Day

12 x12 $400

Suzanne Burnell The Last Snow

9x12 $1250

Mitch Caster

Cinco De Mayo 24x18 $2500

2026 Pastel Society of Colorado Mile High International Pastel Exhibition & Sale

Mitch Caster

PSC Signature Member

Swan Maidens Gathering 25x18 $2800

Jane S Christie

PSC Signature Member

Prima Donna Posey 12x16 $1800

Lorenzo Chavez

Platte River In Winter 16x18 $5900

Barbara Churchley

PSC Master Signature Member

Spring Wetlands 9x12 $950

Jane S Christie

PSC Signature Member

High Country Majesty 14x17 $1800

Tobi Clement

Her Loving Embrace 11x14 $1200

2026 Pastel Society of Colorado Mile High International Pastel Exhibition & Sale

Mill Creek Sunset 10x20 $700

Caroline 18x21 $2500

PSC Master Signature Member

Snow Field 15x30 $1200

Spring Spirits 18x24 $1200

Autumn Along the San Juan 27x24 $2800

PSC Master Signature Member

Glenwood Lights 20x16 $1100

Risky Business

15.5x12 $2000

A Bit of Summer Remains 9x12 $320

11x14 $300

Bruce Gomez

The Elwha River of the Salmon People

17x11 $1600

Patrick Harron

Tranquility 8x10 $500

Doug Graybeal

PSC Master Signature Member

Reflections Roaring Fork 12x9 $900

Katherine Heister

Afternoon in Middle Fork 12x12 $500

Tatsiana Harbacheuskaya

Pierre De Paris 24x20 $1200

Karen Sue Henneck

As Darkness Ascends 11x14 $900

PSC Signature Member Off the Trail II

16x12 $800

Katherine Irish An Atmospheric Aria 20x26 $2800

A Huggins Glorious Fall 8x20 $540

PSC Signature Member

Adorned in Winter White 24x20 $2400

E Johnson Stick a Fork In It 16x10 $1000

Lifted from Chaos

11x14 $375

Waking Moment

11x8 $550

In The Lime Light

8x10 $800

Just a Splash 16x12 $900

Convergence 18x12 $995

Aurora Borealis 11x14 $450

Nancie King Mertz

Every Second Counts

20x16 $2200

Norbert Nagel

PSC Signature Member

Summer Thunderstorm 12x12 $900

Nancie King Mertz

Les Amis Francais

19x23 $2500

Jim Neiberger

Autumn is All But Over 12x16 $700

Billy Moro-Wey

The Lonely Street 14x11 $1700

Juanita Nelson

Prehistoric 20x24 $2000

Gary Ozias

PSC Signature Member

Blue River Shallows

12x16 $750

Laura E Pollak

Lighting the Path

12x9 $1080

Diane Pavelka

Let’s Linger Awhile

8x10 $300

Julie Raney

Girl in Museum with Green Hair

19x14 $650

Laura E Pollak

Around the Bend

9x12 $1080

Mike Ray

PSC Master Signature Member

Burlington Northern Rail 11x14 $800

PSC Signature Member

Juicy Glow

9x12 $700

Jeff Slemons

Birthday Bash Aftermath

12x12 $1200

River Reflections

16x8 $500

Jeff Slemons

Green & Gold

12x12 $1200

Mary Sexton

Why Does the Cow Cross the Road?

8x16 $450

Judy Sprague

PSC Master Signature Member

White Bull 19x23 $1560

Sarah St George

PSC Master Signature Member Days Like This 10x20 $1000

Sarah St George PSC Master Signature Member Red Sash 12x16 $1250

Trees in Violet 5 15x30 $2700

Stutzman PSC Master Signature Member Good Morning 24x18 $2100

Stiles Once Upon a Tree 12x9 $1100

Swearingen A Moment to Oneself 18x24 $2300

W Trenholm

PSC Signature Member

Snowbound Dafodills 12x12 $900

PSC Signature Member

Turquoise Twilight 9x12 $650

9 12x16 $1150

Light Explosion Over the Rockies 12x9 $820

La Croce Ancient Door in Castro Dei Volsci, Italy 17x11 $1100

Young Forage 11x14 $800

2026 Mile High Pastel Exhibition Sponsors

Gold $500+

Blick Art

Friends of PSC Award

J. Luda Pastels

Pastel Society of Colorado

Stiefel Corporation

Silver $250+

Earthberry Pastels

Holbein Artist Materials

Jack Richeson & Co., Inc.

King of Frame

Terry Ludwig Pastels

UART

Web Picture Frames

2026 Mile High Pastel Exhibition Sponsors