“Lake Burton Majesty” is the largest pastel painting I’ve ever created.
In celebration of this moment, I’d love to share some of the creative process with you.

Lake Burton Majesty, 74x56" pastel on board

From Vision to Reality

The commission began with dear friends Joel and LeAnn Nickelsen, who purchased a Lake Burton home in 2022. What started as a conversation about a 3x5-foot painting evolved into an extraordinary challenge—a massive 56" x 74" landscape to hang in their two-story foyer.

Their vision was deeply meaningful: capture Lake Burton's awe-inspiring beauty—the shimmering waters, majestic mountains, and glowing sunset—as a tribute to God's creation.

The Research Phase

Rather than work solely from photographs, I knew I needed to experience Lake Burton firsthand. In August 2023, I spent a beautiful weekend with the Nickelsens on the lake—kayaking, boating, photographing, and stargazing from the dock. This immersion was critical to understanding the light, scale, and essence of the place. The view of the mountains surrounding the lake is a breathtaking sight.

Back in my studio, I created multiple sketches and color studies, collaborating closely with the Nickelsens on key elements like the layered mountain ridges that would bring depth and majesty to the composition.

Technical Challenges of Scale

Creating a pastel painting of this size brought many unique challenges:

Materials: I was able to source a giant Ultra Board locally and mounted UART 400 sanded pastel paper onto it. The 56” width of a UART sanded paper roll became the maximum width for the painting.

Transportation: I rented a moving van to transport oversized materials to my studio, and then to the framer once completed.

Support: I didn’t have an easel that could handle this size, so I mounted the piece directly to my studio wall.

Process: Building up the painting layer by layer— from charcoal sketching, to pastel application, alcohol washes, pastel primers, further layers and workable fixatives to secure the pigments along the way.

Each layer of soft pastel helped bring further depth and dimension to the work. I worked for two months, carefully building up the vibrant landscape, letting Lake Burton's majesty slowly emerge from the surface.

Sanded board mounted to my studio wall with sketches and studies surrounding the work.

Collaboration and Completion

Throughout the process, the Nickelsens and I maintained close communication, refining details and ensuring the final piece would capture their vision. By spring 2024, the composition was locked in. Two months of intensive work later, in July 2024, "Lake Burton Majesty" was completed.

The painting was professionally framed with Optium Museum Acrylic glazing due to the size of the work. It was shipped via art courier from Connecticut to Georgia—bringing this year-long creative collaboration to fruition as it now hangs in it’s forever home.

Final framed painting in the Nickelsen’s Lake House

Creating this painting of Lake Burton Majesty was an epic journey taking well over a year from start to completion. The final result is a moving description of the majestic beauty of Lake Burton’s layered mountain ridges and coastal pines, and a celebration of the heavens above as they shimmer over the waters, reminding us of the breathtaking beauty of Creation.

I did not know how to create a pastel painting of this size and scale at the start of the project. Yet step by step with curiosity, humility and openness to new solutions, I was able to uncover the path that would bring it to life.

Be encouraged that you can accomplish greater things than you ever thought possible if you are willing to take the leap and trust the process.

I’d love to help you get there.

Keep painting!

Alain

Looking for support with your pastel paintings? Be sure to check HERE for updates on mini-courses and to join the waitlist for The Painterly Landscape Course coming this fall!