Pastel Demonstration

I was very inspired by Wednesday’s demo by Liz Haywood Sullivan.  So much so, that I immediately went to work painting.  I had wanted to paint all week anyway, but finding time is always a problem in my world.  Finding inspiration is not. Luckily, my granddaughter spent some time at the babysitter’s and with her grandfather, allowing me some uninterrupted time to complete this painting and to photograph it as I went.

First, I decided to reuse a piece of Wallis paper which I had painted on a few years ago, with less than mediocre results. 

I brushed it off, leaving a ghost image on it.

Using a sketch done from a photo I took last spring, I blocked in the basic shapes.

I laid down the darkest and lightest areas first.

Then, using alcohol and a brush, I liquefied the pastel in those areas, making large areas of solid color.

From there, I began to actually paint, putting down many light layers of pastel.

And after some tweaking, the finished product. 

"The Last of the Snow" 

12" x 18"

It felt wonderful to get something accomplished and I have to admit, I think it came out pretty well.

Liz Haywood-Sullivan Demo

I was fortunate enough to go to a pastel demonstration by Liz Haywood-Sullivan last night.  This free event was sponsored by the Rochester Art Club and was a great opportunity to see how Liz creates her beautiful pastel paintings from start to finish.  She generously shared her painting technique with us, explaining every aspect the process as she went.  Despite stopping to explain what she was (Photo credit: Suzi Zefting Kuhn)                   doing and why, as                                                                                    she continued to paint, Liz was still able to finish her painting in just about 2 hours.  The finished product was stunning and it was very for exciting to see the image emerging as she completed each step.  It was a wonderful experience.

I want to thank Rochester Art Club for opening this to the public and to Suzi Zefting-Kuhn for posting the notice about it on Facebook which is where I read about it.  By the way, Liz has written a book about pastel painting which will published by NorthLight in the very near future.  Look for it!