Russ brought along a matt photograph of a friend to work from. The matt finish, with no reflections, is easier to work with, and Russ prefers to paint portraits of people he has got to know.

He starts by fixing the main features, using charcoal and measuring carefully all the time. For a commission he said he might spend a whole day on this stage! He uses a putty rubber to make any alterations that may be necessary.

Colour is introduced gradually next. Russ uses Senellier soft pastels, and Stabilo pastel pencils. At first he looks for areas of tone and shadows, making forward areas lighter than further back. He uses pastel sticks to mould the features, and checks both portrait and photo in a mirror to ensure a likeness.

The pastel pencils are used for details and Russ does a certain amount of blending with his fingers. He emphasised, however, not to blend everything; a smooth skin is better with a "craggy" background for instance.

When he is happy with the face he turns his attention to other areas such as the T-shirt and hair. The white shirt is painted pale blue to leave himself room for white highlights. In the hair he recommended Pierre noir as the best black for darks.

To finish off Russ used a wet white pastel pencil for highlights in the eyes, and touches of charcoal to darken shadows.

Russ used Canson paper for this demonstration, and told us that he never uses fixative. The evening was entertaining and informative, and the finished portrait was inspiring!

Pat Johnson.