Have you heard of the magical pastel painting technique? For beginners and experienced artists - this is a real pleasure. No need to spend years learning. In just a few lessons, you can learn step by step oil painting for beginners. The simplest techniques will help create landscapes, still lifes and portraits. We offer several secrets that will greatly accelerate the training of beginners in pastel painting. After all, it is not only simple, but also extremely interesting.
The nuances of pastel drawing for beginners (dry, oil, wax)
Often a novice artist for a long time can not determine which basis to use for work, oil or watercolor? There is another category of art materials related to the "soft". This is a simple and pleasant pastel to work with. It is presented in the form of ordinary crayons. During work, there is a very close contact of the hands with the paper.
Drawing dry pastel for beginners in stages we will consider a little later. But you must understand that the desired shade and texture can be achieved by strokes and shading. This allows the artist to feel his work. In pastel painting, there is a magical property of turning simplicity and primitiveness into a worthy drawing.
Soft pastel sticks need a rough, fleecy base. It holds paint powder. Previously, artists even used suede for painting. Today, special paper is produced in the form of rough cardboard or canvas glued to cardboard. You can not only draw with pastels, but also write. Some artists prepare the foundation on their own. Form transfer is made by lines, strokes, contours. Later, tinting is done in various tones.
Pastel is a pressed paint with chalk. It has a high color density and makes it possible to make velvety strokes, soft and loose edges. Working with pastels is a cross between painting and drawing.
Why are pastel sticks attractive? They make painting noble, clean and fresh. Artists create with their help a world that fascinates with the immediacy of creativity. Often shading is done with your fingertips. This further brings the artist closer to his picture.
For pastel paintings need good lighting. It serves as an excellent base for the manifestation of all shades, the game of layering. It is best to consider them in daylight falling on a tangent.
From the history of the material
Back in the 15th century, people used pastel. The theoretical works of Leonardo da Vinci contain references to this material. The word "pastel" first spread in France. It has Latin roots, meaning "pasta."
The dark pigment is rubbed with chalk and a lighter shade is obtained. You've probably heard the word "pastel." The gamma of these tones can vary from translucent to extremely saturated. A pastel shade is one that is obtained by diluting a tone with white. It goes well with related neighboring tones in the color palette. The pastel is quite natural and neutral.
Many Renaissance artists used this particular material. In the art of modern times, pastels were preferred by such masters as John Russell, Maurice de La Tour, Ingres, Jean Etienne Lyotard. The classic portrait genre was not without the use of pastel. It was used in its pure form, and also combined with gouache. The famous James Whistler used this technique in atmospheric landscapes. Many artists of the 19th - 20th centuries used pastel. She was popular with the impressionist artists from the Nabi group. Alfred Sisley, Pierre Bonnard, Jean Edouard Vuillard, Edgar Degas, Edouard Manet worked with the pastel.
In one of the side streets of Paris, the La Maison du Pastel store is still open, selling crayons, which Degas used to use. They wrote his famous series with ballerinas. Used them in his works and Sisley.
Manufacturing technology belongs to Henri Roche. His work was continued by the heirs. The pastel is still made by hand, even ancient tools have been preserved. Full color gamut includes 567 colors. One such crayon costs 12-17 euros.
Four types of pastels for drawing
Modern experts have developed four types of crayons:
- Dry. They are most often used by beginners, they are easily shaded, erased with an eraser, and overlap in a different tone.
- Oil. To draw, you need certain skills. They are difficult to display, strokes cannot be corrected.
- Wax. They do not shade. They fit very nicely, in the form of a glossy layer. These crayons are good at work, suitable for drawing on wax paper.
- Watercolor.
In one picture, only one type of pastel is used. Pastel drawing for beginners involves the use of dry crayons.
Careful handling of pastel works
A delicate and fragile pastel needs careful handling. It is necessary to protect not only the work, but also the crayons themselves. Quick sketches and studies are best done with dry crayons. They also provide an opportunity to bring the work to a photographic look. Often pastel is used for drawing from nature. It is used by lovers of expression, supporters of painstaking detailing.
It is convenient to draw pastels in nature. Many take her for a walk in the park or on a trip. It is suitable for transmitting the play of light, transmitting the texture of clouds and the rhythm of waves. This material allows you to do everything simply and quickly.
The only drawback of pastel pencils is the observance of certain storage conditions:
- Be sure to use the lock at the end of the work so that the pattern does not crumble.
- Place paintings with pastels under plastic or glass, protect from direct sunlight.
- Create a folder for storing pictures. Shift each picture in it with sheets of tracing paper. You can purchase a special album for pastels.
The artist needs to work with pastel very carefully, otherwise all its advantages will disappear. These crayons require precision, a special flair of color. The best pastel work is a lot of colorful layers, clean, but slightly translucent. It attracts with its velvetiness and depth.
Get a tablet or an easel
To work with pastel sticks you need a vertical arrangement of paper or at a slight inclination. So the overall picture is easier to evaluate and the lines of still lifes or portraits on paper are more easily transferred. For convenience, purchase an easel or tablet. These devices can be supported against the back of a chair or table.
Proper use of crayons
Quality pastel sticks are not cheap stuff. Rational use of one set will allow you to use them for a long time. If you are a beginner artist, first get 10 - 15 basic shades. When choosing crayons in a store, ask them to try them. Quality sticks create a velvety layer, without crumbs. The pastel should be well shaded.
Special corrugated paper
In addition to pastel pencils, buy tinted corrugated paper. On it, all the possibilities of pressed sticks are maximally manifested. There are ready-made albums for such pencils with sheets of different shades on sale. Most often they offer gray, light brown, terracotta sheets. They are shifted by special tracing paper. Sometimes the color of the paper may coincide with one of the displayed shades of the object.
Shading work
You can stretch the picture with flat brushes or pieces of sponge. The initial stage of work involves shading with your fingertips. This way you will feel the material better. By shading you can achieve soft and feathery effects.
Paper shades are available for sale. They come in different sizes and are made of soft wound paper. You can also use microporous applicator sponges. They come in many forms. Soft brushes made of natural pony hair are also suitable for shading. Some use cotton swabs, discs, makeup sponges. It is also important to purchase an eraser for pastels.
Showdown with varnish
Pastel paintings require mandatory opening with a special varnish. Do this with a spray gun. The option of fixing hairspray is quite possible. Spray the product at a distance of 30 cm from the picture. Art stores sell special spray cans for fastening.
Staged work for beginners
Sometimes pastel works are related to graphics, but they can also be paintings. Before you do a pastel drawing, learn how to define shades. It is very important here to smoothly switch from one tone to another, as well as to see shadows.
A novice artist is better to take a dry pastel. Start work with a preliminary drawing. Make it light chalk, just a little darker than paper. Then you can easily sweep it with a cloth. The famous artist Levitan used coal for this. Just do not use graphite pencils, they do not fit.
After the preliminary drawing, start applying the main tone with pastel. This is more convenient to do with a small piece of chalk, breaking it off from the main pencil. Then begin to work out the volume of objects. Do it with strokes, dots, lines, strokes. Then shade.
At the end, use a special varnish-spray to fix the picture.
Margaret Evans book "Pastel painting technique for beginners"
Gradually understanding the secrets of using pastel pencils is useful not only for beginners, but also for experienced artists. The work of Margaret Evans will help many to master this type of material. After all, someone considers the pastel frivolous, colorful crayons.
Margaret Evans is not only an artist, but also a teacher of painting in Denmark. In her book, she reveals all the ins and outs of working with pastel sticks. Working with this material is not easy, but very exciting. The author describes in detail all types of pastels, explains why they are needed, how to use them. From the book you can learn how to properly apply color layers. To help beginning artists given various explanations, step by step instructions with photos for work. Margaret offers several workshops on portraying landscapes. They painted various corners of the globe. The book consists of the following sections:
- Color selection.
- Subtleties of composition and perspective.
- Drawings from nature.
- Quick sketches and the use of photos.
- The image of plants in pots.
- We draw a garden.
- Image of bouquets.
Reliance in the Evans book is on pastel drawing of various flowers and bouquets.
Features of working with oil pastel pencils
Oil crayons are different from dry ones. They are somewhat reminiscent of wax sticks, because they include linseed oil. Beginners are advised to use dry pastels. But if you purchased oil, it is useful to find out some points of its phased use.
Oil pastel has a brighter color, so many want to buy it. For drawing with oil crayons, not only special paper is suitable, but also sandpaper, wood, metal, glass, hardboard, canvas.
There are four main stages in working with oil pastels:
- First, undermining is done, a free zone and a zone of local tones are highlighted.
- Layered layers are applied to create depth and brightness.
- Slow strokes are added slowly.
- The edges of the background, depicted objects, background are cleared.
Oil pastels do not crumble, but hardens over time.