The warm and neighborly members of Rowlett’s “Artist ‘Round Texas” art organization invited me to their June meeting to demonstrate my method of working in soft pastels on sanded surfaces.
The subject for this demo was an old barn my wife and I came across in east Tennessee. As I normally do, I began with an explanation of my process of creating a composition in Photoshop, which is my usual method.
Next was explanation of soft pastels in genera, sanded surfaces available, how to start the pastel painting and finally just before the midway break, a mineral spirit wash with bristle brushes.
After the spirits dried on the “under-painting” phase of the painting, I began the layering of color, moving from the hardest “soft” pastels to the very soft and buttery “soft” pastels. (soft pastels range from pretty hard to very soft, all considered “Soft Pastels”)
About the time the meeting was to close, I laid down the last of the pastels. The finished pastel painting was done in a quick, “Plein Air” style, as is necessary when trying to complete a piece in a short amount of time. At the close of the demo, I was blessed with the purchase of the demo piece by a member of the Artist ‘Round Texas club.
Artists ‘Round Texas June 21st meeting
Smoothing some of the hard edges before adding more layers of pastel
Final Soft Pastel painting on sanded paper, 11 x 14
Getting a closer look after the demo
Note to Artist: Artist ‘Round Texas is sponsoring the Paint Rowlett Plein Air Art Competition in the fall of 2015
