Posts Tagged ‘pastel’

Pan Pastel Portrait Drawing

Pan Pastels are a remarkable new tool for artists of all types. These pastels paint on like a paintbrush with vivid colors and details using Pan Pastel Sofft Tools and pastel papers like Art Spectrum. Kansas City's own: Donna Aldridge shows us how to do a quick portrait sketch with these painting pastel techiques! (Shop Pan Pastel and Sofft Tools)  

Pan Pastels

No Comments » Written on July 21st, 2011 by
Categories: Painting Pastels, Pastels
Pan Pastel Painting Pastels (Info taken from PanPastel.com)
PanPastel® Colors  Ultra Soft Artists’ Painting Pastels (Shop Pan Pastels) PanPastel Colors are professional artist grade soft pastel colors by ColorFin made in a unique pan format (cake-like); so that they can be mixed and applied like paint. They are very low dust for a cleaner working environment.   All 80 PanPastel Colors are loaded with the highest quality artists’ pigments; they are made using a unique manufacturing process requiring minimal binder and fillers, resulting in a rich, ultra soft and low dust formulation. All of these professional quality colors are highly pigmented, have excellent lightfastness and are fully erasable. Each pan contains 40%* more material than the average pastel stick. Pan Pastels also come in Sets! (Shop Pan Pastel Sets) *Average, based on a survey of leading brands   PanPastel Colors are fully compatible with:
  • pastel sticks, pencils, markers, other artist’s colors and mediums for mixed media techniques
  • most art & craft surfaces (from delicate handmade papers to toothy pastel surfaces)
  • conventional spray fixatives
           
 

Pastel Basics

No Comments » Written on April 15th, 2011 by
Categories: Pastels
pastel top
Pastels
Many budding artists choose to work in pastels because they are easy to use and the colors produced are rich and sensual. To create a work in pastels you only need paper, fixative and the pastels themselves. There’s no premixing on a palette, no need to add mediums and pastels can be applied to almost any surface. Though pastels are similar to chalk, they are actually a powdered pigment bound together with a gum or resin and shaped into sticks or pencils. Several types of pastels are available in both student and artist grade. Student grade pastels are economical and ideal for experimentation. Artist grade pastels use finer pigments making them more expensive, but their strong color quality and smooth consistency are the reward. Although seemingly an intimidating aisle in the art store a few rules of thumb can unveil the pastel mystique.

Pastel Types

soft chalk Soft/Chalk Pastels These are the original and most popular pastel. They glide easily onto a paper’s surface with the ability to produce many different types of strokes. This pastel has the widest range of colors available. However, soft pastels can get dirty and dusted from the surrounding chalks. Keep them clean by wiping them with a tissue as you work or laying them in a bowl of rice which will rub away the dirty surface powder.

hard pastelHard Pastels
These are the original and most popular pastel. They glide easily onto a paper’s surface with the ability to produce many different types of strokes. This pastel has the widest range of colors available. However, soft pastels can get dirty and dusted from the surrounding chalks. Keep them clean by wiping them with a tissue as you work or laying them in a bowl of rice which will rub away the dirty surface powder.

water solubleWater-Soluble Pastels
These pastels have a chalky consistency and are used dry or wet. Available in pencil and stick form, once applied to paper they can be thinned with a wet brush. Many soft and hard chalk pastels are also water-soluble.

oil pastelOil Pastels
Oil pastels are cream-based stick pastels. These colors can be used direct, built up in layers, blended with a cloth or even diluted with mineral spirits to create rich, transparent washes. They can also be used in combination with other dry or wet media to produce myriad effects.