Demo: Max Hale - Acrylic and Pastel

Max began by talking about the importance of experimentation and exploration when painting. He felt that work should be loose and expressive and that accurate copying was not required when depicting the mood of a scene.

First, he demonstrated his technique of working over existing paintings with dry media such as pastel, conte pencils and charcoal to enhance the existing composition. He said that watercolour and acrylic were the ideal bases for this technique and that the painting needed to be dry. He used hard/soft pastel rather than oil pastel. He picked out highlights and added detail. A little controversially, he dismissed the idea of glazing the finished work. He felt that light applications of fixative in the course of his working rather than the end offered sufficient protection to the painting.

In the second half, he demonstrated a technique of working out compositions in small scale drawings, then changing the mood by the application of a mixture of paint, pastel, water-soluble pencil and charcoal. He emphasised capturing the mood of a scene rather than trying for an exact copy.

The first two sketches show two different treatments of an interior, showing how mood can be changed by the use of colour. The second two sketches are different treatments of a landscape.

All of the sketches start with a very basic outline drawing, enhanced by the application of a mixture of wet and dry media.

Throughout the evening, Max stressed the importance of working in a loose, experimental manner without worrying about producing an exact copy of a scene.