Pastel: Basics


Book Description

Pastel Basics seeks to create a fun and approachable means of introducing this adaptable medium to beginning artists, illustrating that pastels are accessible to any artist who wants to work with them.




Mastering Pastel


Book Description

In this new addition to the Artist's Library series, talented master artist, Alain Picard, guides the reader through an exploration of this unique medium and its myriad uses. After an introduction to tools and materials, readers will learn how to use various pastel techniques, including hatching, crosshatching, and stippling, to create depth and dimension in their artwork. Readers will also find basic information on color theory and how to use color to elicit emotion, portray mood or time of day, and suggest depth and distance. Throughout the course of the book, aspiring pastel artists will learn how to use soft and hard pastels to achieve art that is bold and intense or delicate and soft. Easy step-by-step lessons cover a variety of subject matter, including landscapes, portraits, and still lifes. Artist tips and tricks demonstrate how to blend and layer colors and create reflection, shadow, and soft and hard edges. With its breadth of professional instruction and variety of subjects to paint, Mastering Pastel is the perfect resource to start building artist proficiency in this enthralling and versatile medium.




Pastels for the Absolute Beginner


Book Description

Discover the limitless possibilities of pastels with this beginner’s guide to creating modern, lively, and colorful pastel artwork. Artist and teacher Rebecca de Mendoça offers beginners a complete course in using pastels. Step-by-step exercises and longer projects help you to build the essential skills you need to paint a range of subjects, including landscapes, still life, portraits, and animals. Vital drawing techniques are explained and demonstrated, along with easy-to-follow explanations of color theory, composition, and the pastels themselves. This volume includes techniques for using both hard and soft pastels, eight skill-building projects, and a wealth of finished artwork to provide ideas and inspiration.




Portfolio: Beginning Pastel


Book Description

Beginning Pastel guides beginning artists through an exploration of pastel techniques and step-by-step projects for acomprehensive and approachable overview of the vibrant pastel medium. Pastels are a unique tool, and Beginning Pastel is the perfect introductory resource for artists just getting started in this colorful medium. Before jumping into the step-by-step projects, this book covers choosing the right paper, pastels, and colors, to basic techniques like blending, gradating, and masking. Each stroke and technique is clearly explained and beautifully illustrated. After learning the key concepts, you’ll promptly put them into practice through simple step-by-step exercises. With pastel often considered an advanced medium, Beginning Pastel makes the tricky task of drawing in pastel accessible and achievable for any artist. The Portfolio series covers essential art techniques, core concepts, and media with an approach and format that’s perfect for aspiring, beginning, and intermediate artists. Also available from the series: Beginning Acrylic, Beginning Drawing, Beginning Watercolor, Beginning Colored Pencil, Beginning Color Mixing, Expressive Painting, Beginning Color Mixing, Beginning Pen & Ink, and Beginning Composition.




Oil Pastel for the Serious Beginner


Book Description

Designed for the serious beginner, this volume offers step-by-step advice on painting in oil pastels. Lessons progress simply from easy subjects and techniques to the more difficult and complex. First, artists learn how to use oil pastels to create traditional paintings in still landscape and portraiture. Then the author explores 12 specific experimental techniques, including impasto, washes and monoprint; stencil and screen techniques; and methods for combining pastel with soft pastel and mixed media.




Pastels For Dummies


Book Description

The latest tips and techniques for working with pastels - in full color Pastels offer bright colors, a great level of portability, and no drying time - plus they're relatively inexpensive and can be used to draw and paint on almost any surface. Pastels For Dummies covers the many aspects of this exciting medium, from the fundamentals of choosing the right materials to step-by-step projects, including landscapes, abstracts, and portraits. Inside you'll find hands-on, easy-to-follow exercises and attractive full-color artwork. Presents drawing, painting, and shading techniques and styles in an easy-to-understand format Accessible to artists of all levels Discover your inner artist with Pastels For Dummies and make your artwork come alive!




Pastel Step by Step


Book Description

Written by artists of national profile, this book provides an insiders guide to good tools, and tricks along with best practice techniques. Step by step "proofs".




Pastel Pointers


Book Description

Top Secrets for Beautiful Pastel Paintings Richard McKinley has been a professional artist for over 35 years. Factor in nearly as many years of teaching experience, and that adds up to a whole lot of know-how to share. In Pastel Pointers, he lays it all out: information on tools, materials, color, composition, landscape elements, finishes and more. Compiles the best of McKinley's popular Pastel Pointers blog and Pastel Journal columns Covers frequently asked questions ("How do I achieve natural-looking greens?") and simple solutions to common problems, such as excess pigment buildup Includes a chapter on "The Business of Pastels"—tips for framing, shipping, preparing for gallery shows, and otherwise representing your work in a professional manner This book covers everything from the fundamentals to get you going (how to lay out your palette, create an underpainting, evoke luminous effects) to inspirations that will keep you growing (plein air painting, working in a series, keeping a painting journal). Whether you're a beginner or an experienced painter anxious to explore the expressive possibilities of pastel, this is your guide to making the most of the medium.




Landscape Painting in Pastel


Book Description

Capture the magic of nature in pastel. From the first ferns unfurling in spring to the flaming red foliage of fall and the snow-blanketed quiet of winter, master pastel artist and teacher Elizabeth Mowry offers both beginners and seasoned artists alike a fresh approach to creating light-filled landscape paintings. Using her decades of experience and gift for observation, Mowry infuses every page with time-tested pastel techniques to convey the distinctive mood, color and majesty of the natural world. You'll learn to translate the magic of what you see into what you paint through palette selection, use of materials, value and composition, blending your emotional response to nature's beauty with an ever-growing mastery of a pastelist's skill. This book is loosely based on previously published title The Pastelist's Year by Elizabeth Mowry with revamped content and 8 ALL-NEW demonstrations. Inside you'll find: The fundamentals of pastel. Detailed information about selecting materials, plus exercises and explanations of basic techniques for beginners. Additional master tips and secrets will push intermediate to advanced readers in their art. 20 step-by-step demonstrations. Capture the exciting ways nature changes and achieve the painterly effects that light up spring, summer, fall and winter landscapes. Plus learn how to artfully render difficult subjects like fog, bodies of water, reflections and clouds. How to keep a nature journal. Track the vivid impact of the seasons to add depth to your work and translate seasonal impressions into personal expressions. Learn how Mowry selects her subjects, color and mood, with additional information on field studies and reference photographs. The basics of composition. Learn how to establish a focal point, simplify your subject, portray distance and more to create a beautiful, balanced painting. A five-step method for critiquing your own work. Develop your personal style and achieve successful results with this time-proven exercise.




Pastels for Beginners


Book Description

Whether your preferred medium is canvas or paper, wood or stone, this series of books for beginners demonstrates drawing, painting and design techniques for a variety of surfaces, materials and spaces. The titles in this practical series are suited to help readers become familiar with the most essential techniques of drawing, painting and design.