Demo: Carolyn Fields - Pastel Techniques for Landscape

A most absorbing demo. Carolyn took us through a variety of techniques for improving our pastel work.

She began by talking about working surfaces. She favoured pastelmat paper because it was a robust working surface which provided plenty of “tooth”. She used a variety of soft pastels from pastel pencils, hard pastels to the softer ones. She pointed out that as the colour build up on the surface, it became more difficult to use the harder pastels but that fine detail could be obtained by breaking the soft pastel to provide a hard edge.

She worked from a picture reference on her iPad. She found using an iPad offered the advantage of being able to switch the picture to monochrome so that she could check the values (darks and lights) before she started. She also offered a few thoughts on obtaining copyright-free images to use for inspiration. Landscape photos for artists Facebook group and Unsplash were both good starting points for source material. Of course, the best photograph references were your own.

She began by sketching in an outline of the big shapes lightly in charcoal.

She then blocked in areas of dark colour using a hard pastel. She then wiped over the blocks of colour with a cloth dipped in isopropyl alcohol*. (She used this 99% pure alcohol but pointed out that vodka also worked well). Alcohol set the colour into the paper and provided a good base layer.

She started with dark tones, then mid tones, then light. She worked with hard pastels, then soft pastels as the next layer. She blended colours using a soft sponge (a washable make up blending sponge would work).

She used the alcohol technique on intermediate layers to help the colour sink into the paper. She explained that this helped avoid multiple layers of colour becoming muddy.

She finished by adding highlights, restating some lines and shadows and adding some details. The finished picture was a striking snowy landscape with lovely depiction of light..

A thoroughly engrossing demo that aimed to encourage those new to pastel to dip a toe into the medium!

Those attending her workshop will be able to work from their own references. There will be a quick recap demo along with some work on planning for successful pastel compositions. For those new to pastel, there will be some materials available for experimentation. Contact Jen or sign up on the web page if you would like to join us.

*It should be pointed out that isopropyl alcohol should be handled with great care. Always check the health and safety advice.