Susan Ogilvie Workshop: Day Five the end

Sometimes you just have to call
it a day and stop working on it
Cape Flattery Trail
24 x 18 on prepared panel

Water on a brush to
push pastel into the
texture on the board

No matter how much pastel
I added, the yellow texture of
the panel kept poking through

Value Sketch

for composition

Susan was an encouraging
and knowledgeable instructor

Susan recommended that everyone start a new painting this morning. Some attenders had only worked on a single painting during the five days of our workshop and starting something new was a great suggestion.

I decided to face the painting that I had been avoiding: the one done on a yellow prepared panel. I couldn't seem to make the pastel cover the surface like I desired and it bothered me to not get a result that was reasonable. Instead of starting something new, I faced the thing I had avoided.

I decided to use a wet brush to push/melt the pastel into the textured surface. More of the yellow was covered and most of the values were right. I then added pastel on top to refine the shapes. It's not perfect, but the final painting is moody and suggests the experience of walking through the rainforest along the trail to Cape Flattery.

I got more than I expected from this workshop. I learned a lot about composition and how to make my own pastel panels. In addition, I made some new art friends and shared a rich experience with some outstanding individuals. It's not everyday that you talk about Richard Schmid around the lunch table!

A workshop always brings a high, like a mountaintop experience. Now comes the valley. And lots of practice ahead.