DEBBIE HIDE DEMONSTRATION

Demonstration evening with Debbie Hide

Debbie paints pictures of wildlife - mostly foxes and cats - using unusual backgrounds. She uses Pastelmat paper and produces a background first using acrylic ink or paint or watercolour and Aquacolour either bronze, gold or silver.  The background is sprayed with water and allowed to run to produce a variety of patterns.She produces a number of backgrounds at once and then selects a suitable one for her subject.

 For the actual subject Debbie uses pastel pencils or coloured pencils. They are sharpened to a good point using a ceramic sharpener - a slice.

 Extremes of tones are put in first using random varied lines rather than uniform ones. This produces the impression of real fur more accurately. She likes to start with the dark areas first then work into the light ones.

 Although it is a good idea to start in one corner to avoid smudging the painting should be approached as a whole and not worked at in small areas at one time. To prevent smudging Debbie rests only her little finger on the paper and when the painting is finished protects it with a sheet of glacine paper. Finally after using pale grey for the lightest areas Debbie added highlights in white.  

 

Debbie is an impressive artist and has many hints and tips so that this was a very enjoyable and informative evening.