I've been painting since I was little; it's just something that's always come naturally to me, but there's always room for improvement. I love to paint with pastels and acrylics, but in this article I'd like to show you how I paint with pastels.
Well, here goes. You have to have some idea of what you are going to paint. Will you use photographs, or will you be outside. Alot of the time I gather together various photographs I have taken, and then I might decide to alter something slightly, maybe the colours, or I might alter positions of buildings or hills. Just remember that you can paint anything you like, so be adventurous.
I gather together all my materials; paper, pastels, pastel pencils, rubbers and photographs if working from them. I draw an outline of my topic and if it is a seascape, I measure down from the top and draw a line in blue pastel pencil for the horizon. Green or light brown pastel pencil works better for landscapes.
I always paint from the top of the paper down and this has the advantage of reducing the amount of smudging that can happen. Some artists may paint differently, but this always works for me. Skies hold a fascination with me. They're always changing so you can capture so many different aspects.
You can use lots of shades of blue and maybe bring in a violet shade and white, or bring in a cream or lemon to mix with the blue. Remember that the skies look best with the lighter hues such as white and pale blue and cream above the horizon and getting darker as you go upwards and higher. Use the soft, rounded pastels for the skies as they blend better.
Blend the colours with your finger using a motion to mirror the shape of the thing you are trying to capture such as a circular motion for clouds and for the sea you would blend left to right. It is a good idea to fix the sky when you have done it. From 12 inches away, just spray left to right, but not too much because the colour can become duller.
If you find the appearance slightly mottled, gently rub with your finger and this will get rid of the mottles. You can always add more pastel if you need to. Of course, if you are painting an abstract or something other than a landscape, you may not want to paint from top to bottom, but to start off lightly and gradually build up layers as you go. You'll find out what makes things easier for you.
I would choose a background colour for the sea or land for example, and build up from there. I would add other shades of green or yellow and blend in. I might take the edge of a square shaped pastel and use strokes to represent blades of grass or stems of flowers. As you build up layers you can add more detail.
Remember that everything will have different tones to it because of the light and shade. Things will be in shadow so allow for a darker hue in places. Also when you view things from a distance, you do not see the same detail in something as you would close up, so only paint what you see, not what you know to be there.
I love highlighting things. I use lots of white soft pastel. I break pieces off and use the small bits as I find they are easy to use to portray things like the froth in sea spray and parts of flowers. Give your painting another spray, and check for stray bits of powder. You can always blend in again.
When mounting a picture, if you find some smudges of pastel on the mount, do not smear it with your finger. Firstly blow on it to remove any loose particles, and take a soft white or cream coloured clean rubber and gently rub the smudge. It will come off.
Experiment. It doesn't matter if you make mistakes. Use coloured pastel paper and try leaving some of it exposed under the pastel for effect. You will need to have your painting framed and protected underneath glass. The mount will keep the glass from touching the pastel, as well as bringing the painting to life. To get an idea of what pastel paintings look like within their mounts,
Click Here
Have a look at some online galleries to get an idea of what other artists are painting with pastel. The possibilities are endless. I always find that a painting always comes together at the end, even if it seems disjointed half way through. For more tips on art,
Click Here and to see a pastel painting in stages
Click Here
Think of the satisfaction you'll have when you hang the finished masterpiece on your wall. You may even sell it. Imagine walking in to someone's house and seeing one of your paintings hung on their wall. It feels really great. I've done it myself and so can you. Have fun!
You're welcome to view my website to get an idea of what you can achieve with pastels
Click Here To See Paintings
