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.

Pastel Workshops

I have recently been asked to teach a couple of pastel workshops this summer. I am pretty excited about the prospect of teaching others about painting in pastels. While I have done demos for art groups in the past, they usually have to be done quickly due to time constraints. The nice thing about these up-coming workshops is that they will give me a chance to really get more in-depth with explaining my painting technique. I really enjoy sharing my love of the medium.

Currently, I am scheduled to teach workshops on July 28th with the folks in Livingston County Arts Council in Lakeville, NY and on August 12th at the Coonley-Ward Artist Community in Wyoming, NY. I will be sure to pass along more info here as it becomes available.

Also, if you would be interested in taking one of these workshops, or in having me do a demo or workshop for your art group or gallery, please drop me an email and I will get right back to you.

What a Week!

This has been a great week for me. First of all, the weather was beautiful and I was able to paint two days in a row, and any day I can get out to paint is a really good day. Second, I was in two shows, which is great because I like to be busy and getting things ready for a show is a lot of work. Third, I won several awards in those shows.

In the Suburban Rochester Art Group's show at the Mall at Greece Ridge Center, I won Best of Show for "Spring Green" and First Place for pastels for "Tall and Proud", in addition to an honourable mention. I am very proud since this is the first time I have ever won Best of Show in any show. The competition in this group is especially tough because fellow plein air painter Chris O'Handley is in this organization and his work is beautiful.

In the Rochester Art Club's Fall show at Barnes and Noble in Pittsford Plaza, I won a Merit Award for "Waiting for Spring". Rochester Art Club is a very tough show. It's hard to even get into the club, let alone have work accepted into their show or to win any kind of award. Over 120 paintings were submitted to this show and only 14 received awards. I feel very honoured that all of the paintings I submitted got into the show and that I won an award to boot. This show will continue to be up until the end of November.

Overall this has been a wonderful week for me. I am very grateful.