One of the great joys for the Unison Colour Team is to see the wonderful work produced with our pastels. The team here in Northumberland are dedicated to producing the finest pastels and it is wonderful to see both the diversity and quality of artwork produced with them.
For the last 12 months we asked a variety of our Associate Artists to pick 10 Eyecatchers each month from all the pastels posted to the Unison Colour Soft Pastelling Community Facebook Group. We asked the Associates Artists to pick those that really caught the eye rather than just those that were the most technically perfect.
Amongst the many wonderful works that were posted on our Facebook page throughout the year we ended up with a monthly Eyecatchers blog which showcased the real standout pieces. We also asked our Associate Artists to choose their 2 favourites from their selection each month, and these choices have resulted in the shortlist for our Eyecatchers – first year winners.
We really hope you enjoy looking at the shortlist and agree with our winners, chosen by the Unison Colour Marketing team.
In May 2025, our Associate, Stephen Fuller, based in Cornwall, started us off with these 2 outstanding pieces.
1. Amongst The Whispering Reeds by Gareth Jones
2. Whitley Bay Beach by Darren Ambrose
In June, our Welsh Associate, Gareth Jones, selected these stunners from amongst his 10.
3. Ramshackled by Julie Bowman Williams
4. Pond with Warm Shadows by Alain Voinot
July saw our Glasgow based Associate Artist; Lynn Howarth chooses these 2 beauties.
5. Under a Bigger Sky by Gareth Jones
6. Silhouette by Janina Meulendijks
In August it was the turn of the globetrotting Meral Altilar, who picked these lovely works.
7. Bittern by Teresa Seals
8. The Rabbit by Liz Buckley
September saw the talented Arild Frisnes, pick his 2 favourites.
9. Running Clear by Gareth Jones
10. A Hare by David Flitcroft
In October, we asked Emma Colbert, who selected these stunning pastels.
11. Winter Teasels by David Flitcroft
12. Old Barn at Grimwith by Karen Sutherland
Rebecca de Mendonca, from leafy Devon, came up with November’s great choices.
13. The Lost by Stephen Fuller
14. Oh, what a circus by Lynn Howarth
We asked Cathy Pearce, who is based in the Wiltshire chalk downlands, to be our Eyecatchers curator for December.
15. Christmas Tree Study by Art from The Bikeshed by Dave Flitcroft
16. Glittery Reindeer by Emma Colbert.
Our first curator of 2026 was Katy Bailey and these were her 2 favourites.
17. The Painters by Antony Savage
18. Marian Littlejohn
Lyn Asselta curated the Eyecatchers Blog for February with these 2 coming out on top.
19. Portrait of a girl by Mary Greenacre
20. WIP by Katy Bailey
March saw Teresa Seals choose her favourites from a great selection.
21. Clamp by Janina Meulendijks
22. Stolen Moments by Jade Eberl
In April Fiona Carvell chose these lovely pieces to complete the choices from our first 12 months of Eyecatchers blogs.
23. Before the Last Race by Rebecca de Mendonça
24. Tryfan by Moonlight by Dave Roberts
So, there are our 24 contenders for the “Unison Colour Eyecatchers – first year winners”. All of our Associate Artists, who curated the monthly “Eyecatcher” blogs, stated how difficult it was to choose only 10 from each month and we felt the same picking our 3 winners.
However, after much consideration and with a number of others that were in very close contention, here are our top 3.
In third place we chose A Hare by David Flitcroft – we particularly liked the fabulous loose, pastel strokes of the painting but with the intensity of the hare’s stare.
In second place was Clamp by Janina Meulendijks – this piece appealed to us because it is an unusual image, but it done with such an
Our Winner of the Unison Colour Eyecatcher – first year and recipient of the 18 small pastel set prize was Bittern by Teresa Seals. We felt this was the most Eyecatching image, with its incredible use of light to highlight the fabulous plume of feathers.
We’d like to finish with a Congratulations to all those featured in the Eyecatchers blogs, those who were finalists and our 3 winners. We would also like to thank our Associate Artist Curators for doing all the hard work but, most of all, we’d like to thank all of you who share your beautiful work with us on the Unison Colour Soft Pastelling Community Facebook page, we love looking at them all. Your artwork might be picked as an Eyecatcher by one of our Associate Artists and put forward for the Eyecatcher of the Year next year.
