‘Pastels Over An Under-Painted Ground’ by Chris Blake

Chris once again demonstrated his know-how using pastels on an underpainted pastel ground. For those who know Chris, this is his jam (and possibly his vegemite too!), as he has experimented with all media as a basis for pastel, including acrylic and watercolour too.

For Chris, underpainting helps build both the compositional structure and colour foundations of a work. And using a medium rather than water adds vitality - as long as it’s up to archival standard - with a little help from his trusty hairdryer!

The end result was an atmospheric piece that captured the fading warmth and filtered light of a sunset, a scene that could be – metaphorically – somewhere to stop and simply catch your breath.