Livingston Arts Association is proud to present Laurie Harden as demonstrator of “Upside Down Portrait Painting” at their Art Demo on Sunday, October 1, 2023, at the Community/Senior Center, 204 Hillside Ave., Livingston, NJ, from 2 to 4 PM.

The Demonstration will be on creating an Upside-down Portrait in Pastels. This is a technique that Ms. Harden developed after taking a workshop with Master Pastelist Margaret Dyer, in which she taught a similar approach while painting a figure in an environment. Laurie fine-tuned her technique to focus on portraiture. The point of this approach is to concentrate on the large shapes & values initially. The technique of layering colors of the same value sets up a vibrancy & sparkle to the pastels. Three quarters of the way through the process, the painting is turned rightside-up allowing the artist to re-establish a likeness of the subject and add the finishing details. It is surprising the results that can be achieved.

A graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, Ms. Harden majored in Illustration. As an art instructor & freelance illustrator, some of her clients have included Ladies Home Journal, Redbook, N.Y. Daily News, N.Y. Times, McGraw-Hill, Harper and Collins, Grosset and Dunlap, Pearson Learning, Scholastic, Cricket Magazine Group, Dell Magazines & Simon and Schuster.

Her work is known both nationally and internationally in the collections of the National Cancer Institute, Sloane Kettering Hospital, St. Barnabas Hospital, N.J. Governor Brendan Bryne and the late Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi.

Livingston Arts Association, Inc., is dedicated to providing class lessons, to giving members the opportunity to display works in shows, and to providing demonstrations and critiques from professional artists as well as providing scholarships to Livingston High School Seniors. Artists of all levels are welcome to participate in all events.

This event is free and open to the public. Invite your friends. Refreshments will be served. We look forward to seeing you.