Pemaquid Painting Retreat Pastel Painting Demonstration
The Pastel Painters of Maine held their 5th annual Pemaquid painting retreat this weekend at the Hotel Pemaquid with 23 participants. The weekend started with arrival and painting and then a show and tell of each artists sketch books and dinner at The Sea Gull. The next day was more painting and then I did a pastel painting demonstration for the group. We decided to do the demo in the studio as a terrible rain and wind storm was starting and predicted to last the rest of the weekend. The artists choose a reference photo of mine of Harpswell for the demo from several of different locations. I started the demo with an under-painting of magenta pastel and a wash of Spectrafix liquid pastel fixative. Then I did a rough drawing with pastel pencil and alternated building up the pastel painting and reworking the layers with washes of Spectrafix. I love painting mud flats, so this was a very fun demo to do especially playing with a big paint brush with the liquid washes. This technique gives a painterly effect to the pastel and an interesting texture. The group asked great questions throughout the demo and was very supportive and interested in my process. I also showed two framed finished paintings for the previous year of painting at Pemaquid with fabulous framing from Art House Picture Frames in Portland. Following the demo, we painted in the studio for a few hours and then I did a two hour group critique with each artist showing two pieces. I tried to provide each artist individual feedback on their work and to bring up many painting and drawing issues that are common for all painters and to discuss solutions. We had a fun day and all learned so much by sharing our work, struggles, successes and knowledge!
My preliminary drawing...and finished plein air painting "Pemaquid 19" pastel on board, 9 x 24
