Pastel Workshop - A High Energy Day!

Pam Dunphy

 It was a lively workshop day yesterday with 4 attendees of varied levels of experience. We experimented with a variety of papers to understand how surface affects the pastel application. Pastels come in so many degrees of softness, and we tried them all to gain understanding of which is best for a particular desired result. Underpainting techniques were also explored. We definitely packed a lot into one day and I am so thrilled with the pieces that were taken home. There was a lot of working outside one's comfort zone, essential for growth. Here is one selection from each person, top to bottom:

Helena Bosse

Pam Dunphy is a mixed-media artist, an expressive realist. This was her first experience using truly soft pastels and she exploited the medium beautifully in her bold, exciting style.

Helena Bosse's oils and watercolors are saturated with wonderful light, (helenambosse.com) and she brought that to her pastels too...also a first experience with very soft pastels.

Bob Littlefield

Bob Littlefield, with a fine hand for detail and realism focused his day on simplifying the landscape to its essentials, using large shapes of color and varied expressive marks. This piece has great depth and lovely light.

Christine Towne Swersey

Christine Towne Swersey has just recently begun to explore art making and mediums. The deliciously rich color and texture of soft pastel brought out her expressiveness. This beautifully simplified landscape exploded with color and energy.

I wish I could post everything, as it was a very exciting and productive day. Thanks to all for participating.

For info on other workshop offerings, click here.