Pastel Painting Secrets.
The Top 4 Pastel Painting Techniques There are so many painting techniques; it's difficult to focus on which one to utilize and try when you're beginning. Thus, I've created a list of the top 4 pastel painting techniques to get you started! For most artists, pastels are a starting ground by which they learn to make and mix tones of colors for different shades. You can add colors and mix them to get the shades that you are looking for. As a result if you have already worked with pastels, this article may seem really simple, but continue reading it to get updated on what could be a basic course on using pastels. Technique #1: Using brushes Using brushes to get your pastel painting just right is just one of the most modern procedures that is used nowadays. You will be able to apply color and mix the pigment to get really pretty shades. Make sure that you use the best pastel pigments possible so that you can preserve the images for a longer time. Brushes have been designed specifically for pastels and are used for procedures like applying, smudging color and blending. There are also brushes specific for clearing away unwanted color to brushes designed for glazing. These are a relatively modern addition to other pastel painting tools but they certainly are of benefit especially if you are already used to using brushes with other mediums. Just make sure that you get brushes that are specific to pastels. Technique #2: Washes Washes are just great for use in pastel techniques. They can be as easy as a straight wash of color over the entire paper to a more detailed tonal wash. Another name for washes is underpainting. This is where you get a background effect before you do the detail work of the image. This will require you to paint in the background and wait for it to dry before you actually do the main body of the work. You can do the wash technique with alcohol, which can fix the color into the background and dry faster, or you do the technique with water and watercolor paints that will take a longer time to dry. Both the techniques work well. Technique #3: Feathering Feathering techniques are great, but they require gaining a little practice. There are different ways of feathering used for different effects. One of these is the use of charcoal. Small, thin parallel lines drawn diagonally creates a subtle texture over the already layered area. Feathering is great for giving your painting a lift, for creating subtle shadows or for modifying the base color and casting a subtle change to it. Technique #4: Glazing Glazing is another technique where you have to learn scumbling to get the effect. You can start by laying down a few layers of pastel then, taking another color, dragging the pastel stick over it thus applying a thin translucent layer of color over the base color; this creates the effect of dulled light or brighter light, depending on the colors you have used and the surface that you have used the colors on.
Try each of these pastel painting techniques, and you'll see what an amazing effect they have on your artwork. Remember, it's always good to try something new or learn more about something old! Emma Ralph is an experienced pastel artist and author of the book "Pastel Painting Secrets". To learn more pastel painting techniques visit http://www.paintingwithpastels.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Emma_Ralph Pastel Painting Secrets.