The Beauty of the Pastel medium

Once I had tasted the opportunity to learn to paint with pastels, I was hooked. The wonderful part about the medium is that there is no waiting for anything to dry.  One can paint through that creativity spurt with no hesitation.  Even if you have an oops, or decide to make a change, it is easy to either wipe off the color and apply a different color. One of the nicest realities is finding how easily pastels will blend, so that shading can be achieved without clear color divisions. A more forgiving medium cannot be found.

When I began painting with pastels in ernest, my wife kept referring to them as chalks.  Pastels are not chalks at all, so please never refer to them that way.  Pastels are pure pigmant colors that have been finely ground and pressed in blocks or sticks with a small amount of gum to bind them. Okay, I will conceed that some pastels do look like chalk in their shape and size, and that is perhaps due to the decision Prismacolor made when they produced their line of Nupastel Color sticks. They also may have been considering how easy it would be to use them. Whatever the reason, other companies chose to change the look of their pastels by rolling them and making them larger around, and wrapping them in paper.  If you make the mistake of asking for chalks in a good art store, they will probably refer you to a childrens store because they don't sell chalk!  Pastels in the Nupastel line and Holbein Line are square sided and tend to be a little harder than say, the round rolled Rembrandt, Sennelier, Richeson or Unison lines.

The varity of colors available ranges throughout the color spectrum.  There are som many varities it makes one want to buy one of each. If you got caught in this trap, you would most likely require a wealthy sponsor, or have a nest egg to draw from, (withdraw actually) or perhaps a good credit rating at your local art store. Most pastel artists choose to purchase pastels from a variety of makers to have not only the particular color they want, but to have a pastel that is either soft or firm for the painting effect they are trying to achieve. 


Pastels are not cheap, they vary from $1.89 each to $4 dollars or more depending upon brand and maker. They are expensive because of the fact they are pure pigment.  Some pastel varieties are actually handmade by small companes adhering to old tried and true methods to produce them.  Another reason for their cost is perhaps because of their purity in color and the fact that the colors never fade.  Pastel paintings that were painted in the middle ages are still as vibrant and as colorful as the day they were painted. If you begin learning about pastels from a reputable artist who opens his/her studio for lessons, or take an art class in college, you will no doubt get some guidance on the basic colors you will need to begin your new adventure.

Pastel artists require an entirely different texture of paper for their work than a water color painter or an oil painter. Pastel papers have a surface that has a tooth or grit to it, that captures the dry pigment when an artist draws the pastel stick across the abrasive surface. No matter whom you speak to about pastel paper, you will probably get a different reply as to what to purchase. Different artists have their preferences or favorites, so it is important to ask a few questions and perhaps purchase a few sheets of several different pastel papers in order to see what you like the most. Some pastel artists that cannot find the paper they want, have been known to use sandpaper. Personally I preferLe Carte Pastel paper because it is a heavier paper, and doesn't curl at the edges.  I also really like the surface of Le Carte paper because it accepts the application of multiple layers of pastel with no problems.    

There are a few other necessities for pastel painting. You will need a drawing board, like a piece of Masonite to put your paper on when you are working. Ready made ones are found at most art supply stores that have a clip already on them to hold the paper in place.  You will also need a small 4" X 5" chamois to smudge the pastels in certain application and paper stumps to smudge or blend colors. You will also need a small box to keep all of your pastels and supplies in.

Well I hope this pastel information was informative and useful for you.  The pastel in the upper left corner, is my most recent pastel painting of a fall scene on the Lamprey River in New Hamsphire.  I used this 13" X 16 1/2" pastel painting to show you visually the colors that can be achieved in this medium. I hope it inspires you as the medium has inspired me!