Pastel Class - Resources for Beginning Pastel Artists

How'd They Do That?

This lens was created to gather pastel demos and tutorials into one convenient location for the beginning pastellist. There's more than one way to create a beautiful pastel. See how different artists develop their work. Oil pastel demos are included.

Storage solutions for pastels can be found here, as well as links to articles about how to make your own pastels.

The Studio News

Bachman Art Studio -Weblog-

Drop into my art studio and see what I'm doing to a perfectly good sheet of paper. Pastels-in-progress go through several ugly stages before they become things of beauty, if they ever do at all.

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Soft Pastel Demos

ArtShow.com: ArtShow.com offers a collection of resources for the pastellist. Several demos, Tips & Tricks, Information about soft pastels.
Creative Spotlight: Creative Spotlight hosts numerous lessons. A wide range of topics and mediums. This is an excellent resource for artists and crafters.
Curry's Artist Recources: A wide range of topics and mediums. This is an excellent resource for artists and crafters.
Apple demo: Colin Bradly demonstrates an apple, and includes his color chart.
Tabby Cat: A color chart accompanies this demo by Colin Bradly.
Laying Dog: One more by UK artist Colin Bradly, who generously includes his color chart.
Gary Wick's Demos: Several amazing pastel demos from artist Gary Wick.
Mount Vision Pastel Demos: Pastel demos by Jimmy Wright, Greg Biolchini, and Karl Kelly from the Mount Vision Pastel Company.
L. Diane Johnson's Demos & More: L. Diane Johnson offers several demos and other articles for artists.
JoAnna Terpstra Seascape: JoAnna Terpstra discusses her method of using shapes to create a pastel seascape.
Winter Landscape: Follow along as Marc Hanson develops a beautiful winter landscape.
Rocky Seascape: Lesly Finn demonstrates a rocky seascape in soft pastel.
Landscape Demos: Michael Chesley Johnson, PSA is kind enough to offer four different pastel demonstrations.
Glass Stemware: A simple tutorial with glass and rendered with hard pastels.
James Southworth: James Southworth has a page devoted to images of works-in-progress. Takes a while to load as they are all on the same page.
Down East Sunset: A serene sunset from Arcadia.com.
Balloon Girl: Jim Few, PSA demonstrates a street scene.
Pingree Beaver Pond: Jim Few, PSA demonstrates a serene landscape using an acrylic underpainting.
Susan Borgas Collection: Squidoo lens of Australian artist Susan Borgas containing several links to artworks in progress.
Blue Macaws: Blue Macaws in photorealistic detail are rendered on Curry's.com.
Still Life: Karen Utz does a simple still life and displays some useful items from her studio.
Landscape: Marc Sabatella takes us to the great outdoors with a large plein air landscape.
Horse Portrait: Mary Herbert demonstrates a portrait of her horse, Chester.
Brian Duey: The Lighthouse at Grand Haven, Michigan.

Soft Pastel Demos - Figures and Portraits

Jane Duke: Jane Duke demonstraits a portrait on Canson Mi-Tients paper using Rembrandt and Daler Rowney pastels.
L. Diane Johnson: This little cowboy is demonstrated on Canson paper.
Lacey Lewis: Watch Lacey Lewis develop a female portrait.
Gerald Mineo: Gerald Mineo creates a portrait of Robert DiNero. Also available in PDF format.
Nancy Moskovitz: An excellent explanation accompanies this portrait of a young girl seated at a piano.
Michael Newberry: An unclothed female figure. Michael Newberry offers a mentoring program approved by the Art Renewal Center.
Nora Sallows: Nora Sallows demonstrates a portrait of a child in soft pastel. The artist discusses each stage of the portrait as it progresses.
Joe Hing Lowe: Joe Hing Lowe video demonstration of a portrait done at the Ridgewood Art Institute. The video is 53 minutes long, and narrated by the artist.

Portrait Books available from Amazon

Want more than a free demo? These books can help.

Art of Pastel Portraiture

by: Madlyn-Ann C. Woolwich

A collective that includes portraits by Greg Biolchini, Jill Bush, Wendy Caporale, Daniel Greene, Larry Blovits, and many more from the biggest names in the industry. A real treat!

Amazon Price: (as of 07/13/2009)
Used Price: $2.50

Painting Childrens Portraits in Pastel

by: Wende Caporale

Wendy Caporale offers an in-depth discussion that includes so much more than just children. Don''t skip this one.

Amazon Price: (as of 07/13/2009)
Used Price: $65.80

Painting Beautiful Skin Tones with Color & Light

by: Chris Saper

Another great read for the portrait artist. Includes other mediums too!

Amazon Price: $18.47 (as of 07/13/2009)
Used Price: $11.99

Painting Expressive Pastel Portraits

by: Paul Leveille

Amazon Price: (as of 07/13/2009)
Used Price: $8.89

Your First Purchase

... and it won't be your last!

Okay, you've seen a few demos (maybe all of them) and now you're curious. You've got to try these magnificent little sticks of pigment for yourself. You've scoured the web in search of pastels and found approximately 27 soft pastel makers making roughly 4,892 sticks of pastel.

There are fat ones, thin ones, square ones, and round ones. Soft ones, hard ones, short ones and long ones. To complicate matters further, they come in student and artist grade. If you're wondering what I use, I use only artist grade materials.

It's easy to be overwhelmed by the ocean of choices available. Fortunately, manufacturers make sets of pre-selected colors available. Sets for portrait and landscape are common, and some make sets available by color. Mount Vision pastels are available by color in sets of 25, and are an excellent buy. A substantial size, the color and texture are consistent throughout the line.

Wooden boxed sets are available, but they are priced considerably higher than those packaged in cardboard. If you plan on working "plein air" a boxed set isn't a bad idea. The rigid exterior provides ample protection during transport and you won't need to buy one separately.

I like Art Spectrum's wooden boxed set of 60 for plein air work. It fits perfectly in my backpack along with a pad of paper.

Half-stick sets are a great option for those just starting out. You'll have twice the colors to experiment with at half the cost! My favorite half-stick sets are made by Sennelier and Rembrandt.

Once you have a good starter set, you can begin adding new colors and brands to your working collection. The directions for building a pastel box just like mine (shown above) can be found on this page under Pastel Storage Solutions.

Oil Pastel Demos

Bananas on a Mexican Plate: A still life demo using oil pastel by Carly Clements.
Summer Awakens: Carly Clements demonstrates a beautiful Oleander blossom in oil pastel.
Toccoa River Reflections: Carly Clements demonstrates a landscape in oil pastels.
Old Army Vehicle: Jacquelin Vanderwood provides an unusual subject in this rendering of an old jeep in oil pastel.
Pet Portrait: Sarah Theopilus demonstrates a pet portrait in oil pastel.

Pastel Books from Amazon

Learn more about how to use pastels from these great books.

These are some of my favorite books. There's something here for beginners as well as advanced artists.

Pastel School (Learn as You Go)

by: Hazel Harrison

Hazel Harrison's book is full of unique methods for beginners to try. Beginner.

Amazon Price: $11.53 (as of 07/13/2009)

All About Techniques in Pastel

by: Parramon's Editorial Team

More great demos for the aspiring pastellist. A short chapter on techniques for oil pastel is included. One of my favorites! Beginner.

Amazon Price: $19.79 (as of 07/13/2009)

The Pastel Book

by: Bill Creevy

A comprehensive handbook for your studio. Includes demos for oil pastels. Beginner - Advanced.

Amazon Price: $14.93 (as of 07/13/2009)

Harley Brown's Eternal Truths for Every Artist

by: Harley Brown, Lewis Barrett Lehrman

Watch elegant pastels magically appear from Harley's paper. Learn about the Munsell color wheel and get some great advice from a working artist. Intermediate - Advanced.

Amazon Price: (as of 07/13/2009)

Pastel Storage Solutions

There's no such thing as too many pastels! But where to keep them all?

Pastellist Cori Nichols knows where! Follow along as Cori finds off-the-shelf containers and turns them into pastel boxes. Or, build your own box with the detailed instructions provided for the Travelling Studio Pastel Box.

Creative Off-the-Shelf Storage Solutions: You may already have these...
Portable Pastel Box: Another great idea.
Cigar Box Pastel Pochade: Go plein air painting with this little gem.
Travelling Studio Pastel Box: Build your own box. This is the one I use.

Buy Pastels on eBay

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Make Your Own Soft Pastels

For those who like to roll their own.

Learn more about the properties of your pigments by making your own pastels. Who knows, maybe you'll be the next to create a new brand of pastel. Mount Vision and Terry Ludwig got started this way!

DanielSmith.com: Paul deMarrais gives instructions on how to make soft pastels.
Real Color Wheel: Phyllis Franklin shows us how much fun it is to make soft pastels.
Sinopia: Sinopia's method of pastel making.
Paintmaking.com: Tony J. gives directions on making soft pastels and has detailed information about artist's pigments.