Pastel Drawing
Materials You Need For Pastel Painting
Going to an art supply store and stocking up on materials is one of the guilty pleasures of being an artist, even for the hobbyist. All those paints, pastels, pencils, brushes, easels, sketchpads, sheets of paper, blank canvasses, and interesting tools can provoke a buying frenzy in even the most restrained and frugal person. But what are the essential materials you need for pastel painting as opposed to the things it would be nice to have?
Pastels. Artists who work with paints such as oils or watercolors don’t need as many separate colors as pastel artists, as they can mix the ones they have on their palettes to create other colors. Grays, for example, are always mixed by painters, but for pastel artists every shade or tint of gray needs to be purchased ahead of time.
A healthy selection of pastel sticks is therefore a necessity, even for someone who’s just starting out in pastels. They can be bought individually stick-by-stick, but it’s much easier to just buy them in a pre-chosen set, which all of the major manufacturers (such as Holbein, Sennelier and Caran d’Ache) do. The sets range from little boxes of no more than 12-15 sticks to elaborate wooden cases containing over 400, but 40 or 60 will give a good range without breaking the bank. If money is tight, consider buying a set of half-sticks instead of the full-size ones.
A drawing board. Yes, it’s time to go back to the drawing board! A nice rigid wooden or melamine drawing board will provide a solid backdrop to your toil. Around 16 x 20” is a good minimum size. Place a couple of sheets of newsprint between the board and your art paper to make it a little more yielding, and get a couple of large bulldog clips to secure it all to the board while you work.
Paper. One of the essentials! Look for grained, textured paper made specifically for pastels or charcoals. Smoother papers won’t work.
A rag. A soft rag or chamois can serve double- or triple-duty for the pastel artist. It can be used to wipe dirty fingers, it can be used as a blending tool, and it can be used to gently remove excess pigment from your paper if you’ve put down too much.
A portfolio. A portfolio is a necessity for storing and transporting your blank paper, and for transporting your finished works if you work en plein air. Keep some sheets of glassine paper in your portfolio to interleave between and protect the contents when you’re on the move.
An artists’ charcoal. Charcoal is great for preliminary sketching and blends well with soft pastels. A stick will always come in handy.
Stumps. Paper stumps and tortillons (shorter and less tightly wrapped) are blending tools made from paper. They’re very inexpensive and are invaluable tools for the pastel artist. Keep a couple of each around at all times.
To begin with these are really all the materials you need for pastel painting. Not really that much is it?
I offer a Free 10 day e-course on pastel painting at: www.paintingwithpastels.com
About the Author
Emma Ralph is an experienced pastel artist. To discover more about the materials you need for pastel painting visit www.paintingwithpastels.com
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Pentel Oil Pastel Sets Made from quality pigments, these oil pastels produce a smooth drawing and an interesting range of effects. Oil pastels may be used to achieve fine lines, broad strokes and wash effects, providing an oil painting effect without the inconvenience and mess of oil paints. A great learning tool for students…. |
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50/Set – Sakura Cray-Pas Junior Artist, arts and crafts $6.89 Combines the vividness and brightness of pastels with the cleanliness of crayons and the luminosity and depths of oils. Ideal for sketching, they can be blended without smudging. All colors apply smoothly and evenly. No fixative is necessary. Wonderful opacity. Junior-Artist size 2-3/8″ x 5/16″…. |
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Prismacolor 24 Piece Charcoal Sketching Set $23.29 Prismacolor 24 Piece Charcoal Sketching SetThis set of professional quality charcoal drawing supplies is ideal for beginners and masters alike. Included are 10 sticks of vine charcoal (extra soft soft medium); 4 compressed charcoals (extra soft soft medium and hard); 4 charcoal pencils (black soft medium and hard; white extra soft); 2 sketch pencils (sepia and sanguine); one Magic Rub erase… |
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Drawing with Pastel & Charcoal Tips and Techniques This film is great for anyone interested in drawing. whether you want to improve your painting skills or just enjoy knocking out a quick sketch. Part of what you learn is how to block in preliminary shapes, achieve proper placement and proportion, and how to pick out and render elements for a convincing three-dimensional scene. You learn how to sequence your drawing for the best chance of success,… |
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Drawing with Pastels with Gail Price Single Concepts in Art Art Is… Video Series … |
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Get Started in Pastels: Deborah Secor Paints the Landscape $18.44 Follow along with Deborah Secor as she shows you how to get started with pastel the easy way. You’ll learn basic strokes, as well as how to use tools such as shapers, erasers, blenders and reference photographs. You’ll finish by completing a landscape painting while gaining valuable information on color, value, shapes, composition, perspective, layering colors, details and finishing.Follow along w… |
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Painting Outdoor Shadows in Pastel With Deborah Secor $26.98 Follow along with Deborah Secor as she shows you how to use light, photo references, nearby vs. distant shadows, linear perspective, sun hole shapes, shadow values, aerial perspective, semi-transparent shadows, color recipes and more. You’ll finish by completing a landscape painting using a reference photograph, defining color layers and shadow edges. Follow along with the author as she demonstra… |
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CONTE PASTEL PENCIL SET/24 $43.80 SuppliesNet item (C2182)… |
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PASTEL SET 96PC ASSTD $84.51 PRISMACOLOR Nu-PastelAvailable in 96 brilliant colors, with larger sticks for longer use. The firm sticks are cleaner and stronger than ordinary pastels. Features a creamy texture for easy blending and less dusting for a cleaner area, neater work and less erasure. Use to create broad strokes or fine lines for details SuppliesNet item (27055)… |
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CRAYON EXPRESSIONES 50/PK ASST $27.56 SAKURA Cray-Pas Expressionist Oil PastelsWidely used by high school students, instructors, hobbyists and seasoned artists, this jumbo size round stick is ideal for adult size hands. Suitable for many surfaces such as paper, cardboard, canvas and wood. Use for still life, landscapes, portraits, etc. Certified CP non-toxic from ACMI. Individual colors sold by the dozen SuppliesNet item (XLP5… |