MEMBERS of Newton St Cyres Art Club enjoyed a Pastels Demonstration by Lynda Kettle on Friday, July 25.
Lynda has had a varied and successful career, working in design on theatre and BBC productions, and painting, in all media.
Her passion for art is palpable, and her enthusiasm infectious.
Today she used a sheet of white Pastelmat paper, already primed with colour (sky and land) and sprayed with fixative.
She prefers this to using coloured paper.
The scene (with a photo for reference) was a path winding through trees, a dark foreground and sunshine pouring through the
branches and leaves.
Reminding us of the rule of thirds, she showed that her composition was pleasing, and advised using artistic licence, moving or omitting things, rather than attempting an exact copy.
A painting should be a personal interpretation, eliciting emotion in the viewer.
Using quick movements she dotted on foliage, in a range of yellows, oranges and greens, starting at the top, to avoid pastel dust falling onto any painting below.
She prefers Unison soft pastels, and also Sennelier. She warned us against skimping on materials -good quality is vital.
Each layer of pastel was sprayed with fixative. The lit sides of tree trunks were added, in light grey, which she also added to the dark foreground, to link the two parts of the picture.
Then dark areas were added with pastel and Conte crayon.
More vigorous dotting in a limited range of colours hinted at foliage and vegetation.
She varied the marks, occasionally making some parts larger areas of colour.
The result was a light-filled, colourful and joyful interpretation of a woodland walk.
She recommended triple mounts for pastels, as space is needed for dust to fall and remain invisible.
Jenny Hallam
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