How to Paint: Pastels

Oct 09

There aren't that many books around on pastels, which is a pity, because it's an attractive and relatively simple medium. To have one that concentrates on the absolute basics and comes from a series that assumes very little previous knowledge on the part of the reader is a double treat. Carol Hodgson shows you how to handle pastels and then provides three very thoroughly illustrated step by step demonstrations of sunflowers, an olive grove and a Venetian scene that cover a good variety of both subject and techniques. Everything you need is there, all that's missing is the mystique.

Dec 09

I tend to associate pastels with warm weather because I like to have bare arms when working with them...the color tends to come off on my sleeves! Perhaps I need a book like this, despite not being a beginner because I could do with owning a book that tells me something beyond the basics when using this fascinating medium...I've always liked pastels; essentially they are crayons for adults and I find they free me up, as they don't come with the baggage that paints seem to carry with them. This book is about using hard and soft pastels (not oil crayons) and the tremendous range of effects they are capable of. You can find out what types of paper are best and what else you need to purchase (not too much) and also how to store and transport these very fragile items. Learn how best to work with them and what techniques to use depending on what you want to depict, then work through some projects. These are of the photographic staged variety, with nice large photos so you can see what is going on when working on a dark background. Choose from sunflowers, a Tuscan scene and gondola mooring poles with reflections in Venice to practice your skills. Obviously this is just a taste of what pastels are capable of and this is not a thick book, but you can learn quite a lot from reading then and working through the exercises in here including how to protect your clothes. A good basic grounding in the subject.