Summer Workshop Exercise

Acrylic Ground and Soft Pastels - Irises

This is a recent discovery through a demonstration given to the Tatsfield Art Group this year. I was away and could not teach that night, so the group had a guest instead. I am embarrassed to admit that I cannot remember his name, but the group wanted to have a go when I got back.

Well, what an enjoyable, expressive and colourful combination. One applies a special paste called Acrylic Ground for pastels to normal acrylics and then you apply it to mountboard. This dries with a tooth which enables the soft pastels to adhere to the board. Because you can use any colour combination on the board, one does not need to labour over the pastels at all. The acrylic layer peeps through to transform what could be a predictable pastel illustration.