This demonstration is based on a photo of the Taos mountains taken in the early evening from El Prado, a suburb in the northern part of Taos, New Mexico (Fig. 1).

Whether I am painting or teaching, I stress the importance of a systematic process based on a well thought out set of priorities. By following this process I can be sure of the success of the painting from the beginning and actually get a feel for how the finished painting will look at an early stage. In my painting workshops I help students overcome discouragement at the early stages of the painting by teaching how to plan and follow a consistant step-by-step procedure. The first part of the process is to pick a subject that both satisfies most of the seven painting priorities I have developed and is reasonably within the painter's skill level. Beginning and intermediate painters would eliminate a lot of frustration if they would follow this process.

Fig. 3

When working in pastel or oil, I usually work on a surface that has an even 50% neutral color tone. In this demo, eventhough I begin on a white surface for my drawing, I quickly give the surface a variable color tone that reflects the final colors of the painting but at a somewhat darker value. This is accomplished by lightly applying hard pastel in the appropriate colors and locations (Fig 3) and then washing over the pastel with a brush loaded with odorless turpentine (Fig. 4). To many, this is the most enjoyable part of the painting. Starting with the lightest colors first, using very loose and free brush strokes, I create the variable toned working surface, unconcerned with staying perfectly within the shapes. Depending on the subject and my mood, some of this under painting may show in the finished work. This process takes advantage of the wonderful flexibility of pastel. The turpentine underpainting has a look and feel of water color but can be applied with abandon because the opaque pastel will cover most of it, leaving only the "wash" where it is most effective. This step takes about 20 to 30 minutes.

With the underpainting complete, a marvelous thing happens. Stepping back a few feet I can get a very good idea of how the finished painting will look. All I need to do is to follow the design established at this stage as I apply additional layers of pastel.

Fig. 5

Since my under painting has established the overall color and value pattern of the painting, I can go straight to the center of interest and bring it to virtual completion. This is very important. The center of interest must work. If the center of interest is not successful, no matter how effective the rest of the painting is, the painting will fail. Working in roughly concentric circles aroung the center of interest, I bring the rest of the painting to completion. All though I do work back and forth over the entire surface to some degree, I am careful to not skip around too much. Because the perception of value and color of a given shape is greatly affected by what the shape is next to, the painter must apply the major colors and values in a linked fashion. At least one edge of a given shape should be in contact with a value and color that has already been established correctly. This helps keep the the valule and color relationships consistant thoughout the painting. It is somewhat like the difference between building a bridge beginning on one side of the river and continuing step by step across to the other side. The bridge is mutch more likely to be solidly linked and consistant than if it were built beginning from both sides of the river and meeting (presumably) in the middle. The finishing stage of this painting took about 1.5 hours.