Chana Snyder [NRA 2022]

First name: Chana ;
Middle name:  ;
Last name: Snyder ;

Member: Non-resident artist member ; 
Begin: 2022 ;
End: n/a ;

Biography:

Chana Snyder is a self-taught artist working exclusively in soft pastel. She was first learning  the medium in 2012 when a surprise cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment temporarily derailed her artwork. In 2014 she renewed her commitment to exploring pastels, going on to study with master pastelist Donna Rossetti-Bailey for more than five years. In that time, Chana honed her creative focus to portraiture. Her works now explore  the expression that occurs where light and living form converge. With compositions that gravitate towards stillness and quietude, and subjects that typically assume neither — animals and children — Chana loves to create images that act as a visual cue to slow the mind and reconnect with the small, intimate scenes that occur all around us. The tactile nature of the pastel medium, the act of hand-applying color to paper, and the depth of color unique to dry pigment all let her render a full expression of spirit, energy and emotion in her portraits.

A Massachusetts native, Chana is a graduate of Boston University. Her original artwork has appeared in national and international exhibitions nationwide. In 2021 she created the cover art for the premier issue of Living Crue magazine. She has held membership with the Pastel Society of America since 2018, and in 2022 was elected as an artist member to the Salmagundi Club in New York City. Her animal, child and fine home portraits, as well as original artwork, are held in private collections throughout New England.