Iowa Pastel Landscapes

In a book of breathtaking beauty, Penfield Books presents "Iowa Pastel Landscapes," a collection of Iowa scenes as captured by lifelong artist Marcia Wegman. In May, 2014, Iowa Pastel Landscapes was a finalist in the 2014 24th Annual Midwest Book Awards promoted by the Midwest Independent Publishers Association. Marcia Wegman was a finalist in the Illustration: Graphic category. There were 363 books entered in the contest with 43 categories. One hundred and eighty-five of Wegman's pastel paintings are presented in this full-color book. The paintings are divided into sections on landscapes; farms; cattle; wildflowers and grass; sky; rivers, lakes, and creeks; spring; summer; fall; winter; roads and trails; and diptych, triptych, and quadriptych. Wegman, who lives in Iowa City, Iowa, also writes in the book about her love of nature and how she came to work in pastels late in life. She works fast, often referring to landscape and sky photographs she has taken during walks, and even at stoplights when she's driving. Her work is widely collected and is part of many private and public collections, including those at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Wegman builds on the artistic legacy of Grant Wood, "employing the challenging medium of pastel to explore the magical effects of sky, earth, and light of this place called Iowa," notes David W. Wright, a museum curator and historian living in Decorah, Iowa. The pastels, he adds, "demonstrate the picturesque diversity of Iowa's landscapes." Wegman's other books are "A Look at Latvia and Lithuania" and "Lula Belle," a story about a friendly urban raccoon and her family as captured by Wegman in photographs, pastels, and prose. All are Penfield Books titles.