I am just back from two full weeks in Maine. The first week of that was in a pastel workshop taught by pastellist Lori Ann Signori, and hosted by the Pastel Society of Maine.

My motive for being there was mostly to get to hang out with (and be supportive of) my Maine pastel friends, but I was also interested in learning about how to create luminescence. The week delivered on both.

It was a great group of people, about half of which were new to our group. The culture of this group is super inclusive, kind, and caring, and everyone there felt embraced and safe and welcome. It was good to be together.

Lori Ann had a mix of exercises and powerpoints for us, and I appreciated that she (like me) does not teach through long demos.

Here are what I thought were the highlights:

• To create luminance, fracture warm/cool color of the same value.
• “Squeeze” values- only lights  (high key) or only darks(low key) – to create mood
• Low key high contrast creates luminosity; or high key lack of contrast creates luminosity.
• To create “space”: light/dark warm/cool.
• Create dominance. Dominant value, dominant color, dominant temperature. Mostly quiet with activated bits or vigorous mark making with smudged quiet areas.
• Clump light and dark shapes to create dominance; see it in the app Notanizer at 50%. Have you broken the value too many times? Try to see big divisions of light and dark, leaning strongly towards dominance one way or the other.
• How do I “make the diva sing?” Put in the compliment in color or temperature.
• Whatever is not the star needs to be neutral. Create interesting neutrals by layering pure pigment compliments.
• Use clear gesso when you want to lightly scumble over.
• More tension leads to more attention; no tension equals no interest.
• Are you painting colored things or colored light?
• Don’t fear working in lots of layers, with runny or puddling or spattered fixative under layers, and even with watercolor on top of pastel.
• Write word pictures of what you see or what your painting is about before you start.

In the photos below you can see our time together, and some of the exercises we did.

The event was held at Laudholm at the Wells Nature Preserve, which is a lovely place with a short hike to the beach. It was a great place to explore, to paint, and to be.

I helped cook some of the dishes for lunch: my Blueberry Corn Saladita (recipe here) and my Curried Tuna Salad with Apples and Raisins (recipe here).

We enjoyed a couple local restaurants: Fisherman’s Catch (in Wells where I had the Whole-belly clams); The Boulangerie (bakery in Kennebunk), and Bandaloop (in Arundel ME)

So grateful for such a full time in a wonderful place, with great people!