Workshop: Carolyn Fields - Landscape in Pastel

Carolyn began with a recap of the points on her demo along with another pastel painting.

She urged us to experiment with the different surfaces - samples were provided along with and the various grades of pastel, from hard to ultra soft. There was a lot of experimentation with the different types of paper, which ranged from something like sandpaper to those with a quite soft surface. Carolyn explained that the advantage of the (more expensive) specialist papers such as pastel mat was that they could take lots of pastel layers, rubbing in and even brushed-on liquids. Similarly, the softer (and more expensive) the pastel, the more pigment was present - and so, of course, the more intense colour. In general, when layering on the pastel, artists should aim for the softest pastel to be the top layer.

She reminded us that once we had worked out the composition inspired by our reference photo, we should map out the largest shapes, then fill in their colours using the complementary of the eventual colour. After this, we should brush on the alcohol to fix the bottom layer. After that, we could set to work layering on the pastel.

Carolyn circulated throughout, offering inspration, advice and support - along with sharing her collection of pastels and other equipment. It was an excellent workshop which produced some terrific work - and also multi-coloured fingers!