Lorraine
Wigraft Demonstration 20th August
2016
Pastel Landscape with Acrylic Underpainting
Lorraine is a multi-award winner, internationally published artist and
our own pastel and acrylics tutor. Today she was doing a pastel
landscape with acrylic underpainting. The scene was a shaded blue
mountain in Tasmania overlooking and reflected in a still lake. She
had done the underpainting already on dark blue pastel paper. Canvas
would be good but it is a bit thirsty.
Lorraine did a bit more work
with paint in the sky although she would be putting pastel over it not
much later. This was a bit surprising but she said that although it
is best to let the acrylic paint dry first it is possible to work with
pastel while it is still damp. The acrylic dries a darker colour and
fairly quickly. It gives a bit of tooth for the pastel.
She uses all
sorts of pastels, soft and hard, all brands. For paper she prefers Colorfix.
She worked vigorously, quietly, confidently, working in
various parts of the picture at once with strong strokes. She has a
strong work ethic, painting every day. She values being quick, not
procrastinating. “Just get into it.”
The mountain was a dark blue area, in shade, so it presented a problem to show its edges and ridges. She did this with shades of blue and purple which gave a luminous effect. The blues in the shaded part of the mountain became mystical, contrasting with an area of orange where the rocks were exposed to the sun. There was a hard-edged contrast between the solid reality of the cliffs and the gaseous quality of the distant valleys and clouds.
Dealing with the reflections in the lake she said that it is good to do both the object and its reflection together at the same time.
We had a lovely afternoon tea. Then it was back to add bits of jewellery, some distant huts and a beach. Light touches were added here and there bringing the foreground to life. The mirror of the lake was most realistic. She knew when to stop. The final picture was dramatic and beautiful. Thank you Lorraine.
Report by Colin Browne