Contemplative Realism:
Beauty in Form and Theme
Emily A. Pastor is a fine artist, specializing in representational and contemplative oil painting. Emily received her training at the classical atelier, Sumpter Academy of Art in Portland, OR. Emily’s luminous and haunting compositions resonate with a growing base of collectors and her work has been exhibited and recognized by organizations such as the Art Renewal Center, Salmagundi Club NYC, and Oil Painters of America.
Emily and her husband (Paul J. Pastor) live in Oregon's Columbia River Gorge with their three children.
About
Artist Statement
Contemplative Realism
I took my first art class as a 32 year-old mother of three, with no formal background in art. What led me to that first class is a story for another time, but at the heart of it, I needed to make something beautiful. I wanted to take the complexity and grief I had experienced and respond with truth, beauty, and goodness. Through my atelier training, I fell in love with the technicality of classical realism and its power to communicate through composition.
Our family lives in the rural woods of Oregon, and it shapes both our life and my art. It’s a place of extremes. We’ve had wildfires in our backyard and four foot snow drifts against our house. This place holds so many tensions — it is brutal and generous, vulnerable and resilient, harsh and gentle. I want my art to hold the tensions we feel so often in nature and in our own lives.
Because of this, I am most inspired by stories of grief and loss which are tempered by deep hope and resilience. My goal in each painting is to use the skills passed down from generations of classical painters and utilize composition to draw the viewer into a powerful narrative. I want collectors to see my work as a way to pause, reflect, and connect with their own stories of life and loss. My paintings are meant to feel generous and leave the viewer with something - a question, an idea, a feeling. My work is an invitation to examine the growth and grief we often overlook and find that throughout it all, beauty is a balm.
Curriculum Vitae
Education & Workshops
2024 Timothy Rees, Mastering Skin Tones
2024 Daniel Keys, Floral Composition
2024 Dominique Medici, Alla Prima Portraits
2023 Lori Putnam, Plein Air Landscapes
2019 – 2022 Sumpter Academy of Art, Portland, OR
Classical Art Atelier
2005 – 2007
Corban University, Salem, OR
B.S. English Communications
Summa Cum Laude
Awards & Recognitions
2025 17th Annual International Art Renewal Center Salon Finalist
2024 Judith Carducci Full Scholarship, The Portrait Society of America
2022 Oil Painters of America Fall Online Showcase, Honorable Mention
Shows & Exhibitions
2024 Oil Painters of America National Juried Salon, Indianapolis, IN
2024 Salmagundi Club, 46th Annual Juried Open, NYC
2023 Salmagundi Club, SCNY Figurative Exhibition, New York, NY
2023 Salmagundi Club, 45th Annual Juried Open, New York, NY
2023 Redux Art Showcase, Portland, OR
2023 Bristol Art Museum, Miniature Monumental, Bristol, RI
2023 Combine Art Collective, 2nd Annual Juried Show, Walla Walla, WA
2022 Parklane Gallery, Winter Show, Kirkland, WA
2022 Parklane Gallery, International Miniature Show, Kirkland, WA
2022 Sumpter Academy Spring Exhibition, Portland, OR
2022 Society of Washington Artists Spring Show, Vancouver, WA
2021 Troutdale Art Center,Troutdale, OR
Publications
2024 Commonplace Living, “Wellspring Mother Artist Feature “
2023 The Unmooring Journal, “In Grief” cover image and feature
2021 A Burning in my Bones, print book “Flathead Valley Illustrative Map”
2020 Commonplace Quarterly, print magazine, “Nature Wreaths”
Memberships
Oil Painters of America
Portrait Society of America