The demonstration for April was called "Painting the Pastel Landscape" and was presented by Linda K. Obremski. It was held in Guild Hall of the First Congregational Church of Reading, Sanborn Street, Reading on April 13, 2005.

We have some photographs of the event in case you could not make it to the show in person. You can click on any of the images on this page to view a larger version of it. Then, use the Back button on your browser to return to this page.

Linda showed us the pastels she uses and discussed
the differences between soft and hard pastels.

Then she discussed the types of papers she uses
and some of her techniques. In this photo she is describing
how she puts down a ground color by scrubbing the pastels
into the paper using a brush.

Here she has started her painting by putting in the
sky. She put down white first to make it bright
and then added blue and green for the sky color.

Once the sky was in, she blocked in the trees
using black. While using black pastels is a bit unusual,
Linda says that it provides depth when the color is put on top.

Finally, she put in the forground.

And here is the finished painting.

Linda Obremski uses her own photographs and field studies of landscape as a starting point for her creativity and expression in pastels. Her goal with each painting is to convey a "Semi Realism" that is traditional but not technical, by using the soft boundaries of shape and color within her subject. Having studied at the New Hampshire Institute of Art and at the Sharon Arts Center as well as with several noted artists such as Anne Heywood, Elizabeth Mowry, Christina DeBarry, Jeanne Lachance, Oscar Durand, and Sue Zylak, she has won numerous awarards in New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts, most recently:

First and Third in Pastels, Keyes Art Show in Milford; Honorable Mention, Greely Park Show; First in Pastels, Carlyle Place Show; accepted into the Sharon Arts Center, Small Wonders National Miniature Art Exhibition; Second in Pastels, Manchester Artists Association's Art in the Park Show; First in Oils, Carlyle Place Show; Purchase Prize Awarded by Verizon at the Art in the Park Show in South Portland, Maine; accepted into the Academic Artists Assoc. 51^st, 52^nd and 54^th Annual National Juried Exhibitions in Springfield, MA; Purchase Prize Awards by the Bedford Town Offices and Library; and many more.

Linda has served as the president of the Manchester Artists Association for three years and is currently a member of Nashua Artists Assoc., the Andover Arists Guild, and the Pastel Painters Society of Cape Cod. She teaches adult classes in Pastel Painting at E.W. Poore Art Studio in Manchester.

During her demonstration Linda will talk about and show various pastel supplies, papers, and tricks of the trade. She will begin a small pastel painting and complete as much as time allows. She encourages questions! Don't miss this interesting evening. Bring a friend.