Pastel School A Practical Guide to Drawing With Pastels

184 Pages·1996·30.27 MB·English

by  Hazel Harrison

A practical guide to
painting and drawing
with pastels
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HAZEL HARRISON
READERS
DIGEST
Learn-As-You-Go-Guide
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Boston Public Library
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THE READER'S DIGEST ASSOCIATION, INC.
Pleasantville, New York/Montreal
A
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BR BR
NC880 Foreword
.H355
A READER S DIGEST BOOK 1 996
Designed and edited bv Quarto. Inc.
Vmor An Editor Penny < 'obb
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Ic\t fcditor \/iin Viiti/u/
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he lure Manager Ciiulia Ikthenngtnn
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The credits that appear on page 176 are hereby made a
part of this copyright page
Copyright© 1W6 Quarto. Inc.
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Unauthorized reproduction, in anv manner is
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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Harrison H.i/el
idiool .i practical guide to drawing with pastels/
Has) HarnMin
p cm — (Reader's Digest Icarn-as you go guide
Includes index
BBN0-89577-&49-]
el drawing—Technique L Title. II. Series.
ihss 1996
95-33556
is logo are registered
ition, Iru
Printed i:
you arc new to pastel, you may feel appre-
If
hensive - perhaps you have heard that this is
a difficult medium to use. It is true that it takes
practice to produce an excellent pastel painting,
hut the hasic skills are easy to acquire. Pastel is
an immensely satisfying medium, and in many
ways ideal for heginners. A child takes the first
steps in art with chalks or crayons rather than
paints and brushes, relishing the ease of spread-
ing color on paper. And so it is for the inexperienced
artist. With any of the other painting media, you
A VERSATILE MEDIUM
In some pastel
paintings, colors are
blended so that no
lines are visible, but
this work exploits the
medium's capacity to
draw and paint
simultaneously. Each
area contains a delicate
network of strokes,
following varied
directions, which gives
the picture a
wonderfully lively
quality. Notice the
foreground squiggles
suggesting rough grass
^J'jKp'f - some fine and light,
others more heavily
applied. /Old Bridge —
MiJwfer* 9z.. Alan Oliver)
must premix your colors on a palette, leam how discover your personal style, through practice
to handle brushes, and spend time drawing before and the example of others. A flip through the
you can apply color. Pastel needs none of these pages will show you some of the exciting possi-
intermediary stages, because it is both a drawing bilities that are open to you.
and a painting medium. The stick of color becomes
virtually an extension of your hand: just as the
child does, you can pick it up and start painting.
CKAMAA >A
//-
Although there are no "difficult" techniques
associated with pastel, there are many ways of
using the medium, and all artists have their dis-
tinctive styles. This book is designed to help you
INTRODUCTION
s
BUILDING UP
YOUR SKILLS
WHAT YOU WILL NEED 44
COLOR MIXING
18
o ABOUT PASTELS 48
BLENDING LARGE AREAS
22
PASTEL CARE 52
BLENDING SMALL AREAS
24
PAPER TEXTURE 56
USING LINE STROKES
26
PAPER COLOR 58
BROKEN COLOR
28
THE STUDIO AND THE PORTABLE KIT
OVERLAY6IN0G COLORS
62
UNDERDRAWING
64
2 BUILDING UP A PAINTING
66
FIRST MARKS EDGES, OUTLINES, AND DETAILS
68
32 WET BRUSHING
WORKING WITH PASTELS
70
34 CHARCOAL AND PASTEL
LINE STROKES
72
36 UNDERPAYING
SIDE STROKES
74
38 USING THICK COLOR
COMBINING STROKES
i 40
LAYING A TEX7T6URED GROUND
GESTURAL DRAWING
78
MAKING CORRECTIONS
80
COMPARING METHODS
y