Cypress Swamp III (pastel on paper)Brenda McDaniel, a founding member of the Ouachita River Art Gallery, demonstrated "How to Paint with Pastels" at the Gallery Saturday, December 19, 2009.
"Using a good, heavy-weight sanded pastel paper and very soft pastel sticks, lay in a light underpainting. Wet a large flat watercolor wash brush in a mix of 1/2 rubbing alcohol and 1/2 distilled water. Stroke the pastel with this mixture. The pastel melts and sinks into the paper. You'll need to continually dip and blot your brush on paper towels. If you need to lift color out, do it before it dries. After you have painted, you can go back with the dry sticks and either enhance or cover the image. Effects seem to glow."
