Pastels

STEP ONE
When setting up for the portrait, I choose a space that provides a pleasant ambience with good lighting; music (if preferred); and minimal interruptions or distractions. I meet the subject and get a feel for their character, and I ascertain what the person commissioning the painting is expecting from the portrait.

STEP ONE
I chose a fairly simple landscape for beginner pastelists, using a sheet of Mi-Teintes “Tex’ textured paper (sandpaper finish). As the actual shade of the paper plays a significant part in pastel work

STEP ONE
On the smooth side of the pastel paper I use an off white pastel pencil to sketch the bare outlines of the figure, the river bank and the tree. Precise drawing at this stage isn’t necessary; it’s the composition that is important. The pastel pencil line is easily removed with a soft rag if I want to change anything. Four different photographs are used for reference for this picture.

STEP ONE
The first stage is to plan the format and composition of my artwork. In this case I have chosen a square format – a square is a solid shape with a natural sense of balance and it seems appropriate for this particular subject.

STEP ONE
I work from reference images I’ve photographed either printed as photos or on my computer. I draw the image on white paper, and transfer it on to my final paper with tracing paper. I use white pastel pencil on the underside and trace the image with a graphite pencil.

STEP ONE
I define a clear border to contain the end result and leave reasonable space all around to facilitate handling. This space includes an area to “test blend’ colours. I use charcoal pencils and a brown pastel pencil to formulate the major shapes, before adding a light pink around the ears.

STEP ONE
I had started another painting on this sheet of Terracotta Colourfix, and decided to abandon it. After tapping and brushing off most of the existing pastel, I washed the paper with a brush lightly loaded with water; and blended some of the remaining pastel.

STEP ONE
I did a quick sketch on paper just to get the feeling of the subject and some understanding of how the main shapes related to one another.

STEP ONE
With a pastel pencil I very loosely sketch in the basic layout and shapes to establish the basic composition. I decide where the horizon line will be as I usually place it higher or lower than halfway – depending on whether I want to emphasis the sky or the foreground. The curving shape of the meandering river is a key element to this composition, so it’s important to get it right.