Demo: Roger Dellar - Interior with Figures in Pastel
As usual from Roger - a terrific demo.
He started by explaining that he would usually begin a pastel by laying down a layer of watercolour to indicate areas of dark, mid tones and light. However, for the purposes of the demo, he went straight in with pastels. He worked on mount board, which he had covered with a layer of pastel ground (he used Golden Pastel Ground, a textured acrylic primer). He wanted a surface with a little ‘tooth’, so he usually waited until it was dry before sanding it lightly.
He used a photograph of a bar as a reference and selected his range of colours to match those in the photo. His initial marks outlined the scene very loosely, paying attention to perspective - the vanishing point at the viewer’s eye level and all lines converging onto that point. He also decided which light sources he intended to use. He then blocked in the darkest areas using soft pastel.
He showed us how to layer warm and cool, complimentary colours throughout the picture. He advised us not to worry about making the wrong marks, as they could be corrected later. He kept paying attention to all areas of the picture, building up layers of colour. If an area became clogged with pastel, this could be corrected by using harder pastel to break up the surface or fixative to set it. He also used a rubber palette knife to smooth areas.
As he worked, he checked the direction of his marks, hatching, softening and cutting in with curved strokes. Gradually, as he progressed, he added more details to the looser areas.
When the process was complete, he explained he usually tapped the back of the card to remove loose particles but he did not apply a final spray of fixative as it would dull the colours. If the layers were applied carefully, a final fixative spray was unnecessary.
To end the session. he offered some advice for those thinking of attending the workshop:
Bring more than one photograph as you will be likely to finish several works. They can be interiors or landscapes - whatever you fancy doing.
Your work surface needs to have some ‘tooth’, so either use the mount board and pastel primer, or pastel paper, or pastel mat, or some card with gesso mixed with some pumice.
Pastels - you will need to bring a mixture of hard and soft pastels. Conte pastels are good; Sennelier and Unison are excellent. You don’t need too many as you will be mixing colours. Take a look at your photo references and work out a few main colours.
Acrylic or watercolours will be needed for underpainting.
Fixative - decent quality hair spray works just fine.
If you would like to book a place on this workshop, 10.00-16.00 on Saturday, 25th February, contact Jen and Sally. Do join us!
