Working with Pastels

Since my goal is to combine watercolor and pastel in a harmonious relationship, each contributing its strongest attributes let's take a minute to reflect on what makes relationship work.

For a marriage to be successful the partners need to know each other well.  So is it when uniting watercolor and pastel.  Actually it is you the artist who needs to be well acquainted with the participants (the tools you will use).  To be successful you must be proficient in both mediums.  For a marriage to be successful it takes application and practice.  So you need to be patient and persevere as you explore and practice.

Having successfully pursued watercolor for 22 years as a professional artist and teacher I feel confident with watercolor techniques.  But soft pastels are a new medium for me.  It has taken many hours of exploration with various materials and just good old fashion practice to become secure with pastel.  The purpose of this blog is to share with you the techniques and insights I have gained. Perhaps you will want to give this marriage between watercolor and pastel a try.  

To become acquainted with pastels I have done some flower studies on different surfaces.

 

Pastel on Drawing Paper

 Pastel on Dark Paper  

 Using the Color of the Paper to Develop the Subject

 Pastel on Sandpaper

The pastel really bites into the surface.

I also spent some time working out a system of organizing my pastel sticks.  The one illustrated here (see photo below) seems to work best for me.

 

I select the colors and values I want to use from my compartmental trays and lay them out on a terry-cloth towel.  This helps me stay focused on the colors initially chosen and keeps me from introducing too many colors or discordant color.

 

My next step was to explore tools that would help me in the execution of pastels.