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Exploring oil pastel with the Markham Group of Artists

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Thanks very much to Maureen Thompson of the Markham Group of Artists who invited me to lead a full-day beginner workshop on how to use oil pastels.

It can be challenging to work in a new medium, but as one participant observed it is also liberating because it is easier and more fun to take risks when you’re a learner. We began by preparing masonite panels with Golden Acrylic Ground for Pastels.  While they were drying, everyone practiced applying and blending colour as well as mark-making on test sheets of tinted paper coated with pastel ground, before turning their attention to their chosen landscape images for the rest of the day.

Most of us recall working with crayons or coloured pencils as children, an experience that gives artists their starting point.  Colours can be stroked gently into the surface and feathered together to create new transparent blends, almost like tweed, or they can be scrubbed firmly into the surface to create dense opaque shapes – and everything in between. Everyone finds their own unique way to apply colour.  

 As part of today’s process we also looked at the work of two very different artists: Canada’s  A.J Casson whose paintings are notable for a strong sense of design that he used to tame complex landscapes. Later, we looked at a number of exquisite works by the American artist  Wolf Kahn, whose brilliant colour and calligraphic approach to landscape suggest a completely different way to tackle the challenge. 

And here are the results of today’s labour:

Markham Group of Artists Pastel paintings

A chat with the Markham Group of Artists

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I'm with Karen Grimshaw, president of the MGA following my presentation and brief demonstration.

I’m with Karen Grimshaw, president of the MGA following my presentation and demonstration.

I recently visited the Markham Group of Artists (MGA) to talk about the joy of working in oil pastel.  Many people tell me that they have oil pastels in their kit but never use them because they’re not quite sure what support to use or how to preserve them. I’m always happy to talk about my process. Oil pastels are a very simple medium to use, require no special techniques, yet can be manipulated in many ways, have no smell, create no dust, are portable and can be applied to any surface. I concluded the morning by showing them the first steps I take to start a painting in oil pastel. Many thanks to Maureen Thompson for the invitation.