pastel demonstration: red and violet threads

red and violet threads, pastel 11.5x12

Saturday afternoon was my pastel demonstration at the Waverly Street Gallery. It was great to see so many people there! I decided to work on two different paintings. First, I showed how I begin a pastel and worked for about 45 minutes.For the second painting I demonstrated how I finish a painting, the thinking that goes into it. Most paintings need a "resting time" before finishing, therefore I worked with two different paintings. Above is the painting I finished at the demo.
For me, the unusual thing about this one was, I began with a used piece of watercolor paper that had black pastel all over it. I had begun a negative space eraser drawing and decided I didn't like its direction. Later, I wiped most of the black off, but it still left a very dark piece of paper. (I normally begin with white.) On a whim, I chose it to create a new color pastel.  I covered the black with large shapes of dark purple(tree and grass) and a lighter blue (sky areas.) After the shapes were massed in, there was a whole different feeling. The color rose out of the darker space. I rather liked working this way and will try it again this week.