Pastels include brilliant colors as well as pale.
Pastels are sticks of color made of ground pigment with a small amount of binder. The colors range from pale to vibrant and have been used for centuries by artists including Degas and Picasso. Pastels are available as hard, soft and in the form of pencils. The colors are opaque and are applied from dark to light. A rough paper is used that has tooth, or texture, that grips the pastels. This medium is well suited for all subjects. Amateurs and professional artists find the range of colors and the versatility of pastels to be exciting.
Under painting
An under painting gives your finished pastel painting more depth of color. Pastels are water soluble and broad stokes can be given a wash effect with a watercolor brush loaded with water. Brush over the pastel and experiment with the wash effects. Once your under painting is finished, build your layers of soft pastels on top of it. Allow some of the under painting to show through your layers of colors.
Applying Hard Pastels
Hard pastels are used to provide your first layer of color.
Hard pastels are ideal for blocking in large areas of color for your first layer. Because of their hardness, they do not fill much of the tooth, or texture, of your paper. This allows you to go over the hard pastels with layers of softer pastels to build up your colors. Typically the darkest shadows and tones in your composition are laid down with the hard pastels.
Soft Pastels
Soft pastels are available in a huge range of colors.
Use your soft pastels to build layers of color after your underpainting and hard pastels have been applied. With pastels, you apply your dakest colors first and then build lighter colors on top of them. Some artists like to blend their colors with their fingers. Be careful not to overblend or your colors will become muddy. Your color can be applied with short strokes going in one or several directions or you cover your paper with broad strokes using your sticks of pastels on their sides. Dots of color can achieve interesting texture. Try different strokes and discover what works for you.
Pastel pencils
Pastel pencils allow you to work in tighter detail. Some artists use them exclusively while other will use them to apply the final layer to add fine lines. They are excellent for working areas that need detailed line work. They can be sharpened to a fine point or the tip can be used on its side for blending.
