Pastel on Paper
Pastel comes from the word paste.
It is pure pigment. Mixed with oil it becomes traditional oil paint.
Edward Degas, Edwourd Manet and Toulouse La-Trec, Whistler, and Cassatt were all pastelists.
"L'Etoile"
Edgar Degas
Pastel
Daniel Greene is perhaps the most famous modern day pastellist and has his own lines of pastels made to his specifications by Unison.
"Green Checkerboard"
Daniel Greene
Pastel
His pastels can be purchased at major art supply stores including dickblick.com
Pastel is the most permanent of all the mediums in existence.
Its intrinsic beauty is without peer.
My favorite paper to use is museum grade Kitty Wallis sanded paper. This heavy high quality paper has a gritty surface that can hold many layers of pastel without need of spraying. It will take even the softest pastels and allow many different looks to be achieved. This paper will take oil or watercolor under paintings.
Childrens pastel portraits are finished with a combination of types of pastel. First I usually begin with Nu Pastel sticks or conte pastel pencils which are both hard.
Carb-Othello pastel pencils are a bit softer .
These are wonderful pencils in color sets of 12, 24, 36 , 48 and 60.
I use these until a third of the paiinting is complete and begin using Rembrandt pastel sticks which are softer than the pencils.
I finish up with Rembrandts and softer pastels such as Sennelier, Unison, or Great American pastels.
Children's pastel portraits from the Mississippi Delta have been recently completed on Kitty Wallis sandpaper.
Oil portrait paintings completed in Nashville Tn were done of two children from Belle Meade with their golden retrievers. I loved using the soft Unison pastels for this project. Oil Paints I prefer are Windsor and Newton.
I used Nu Pastel for a child in Birmingham Al in sanguine for a timeless look.
For pastel portraits finished for a family in the Park Cities neighborhood of Dallas Tx I was asked to include a child's beloved horse.
This child and pony done at Germantown Charity Horse Show in Germantown Tn shows a happy little girl on her first pony.
Pastel Organizations:
The Pastel Society of America
The Pastel Society of the West Coast,
The Degas Pastel Society,
The Pastel Society of the Southeast,
Pastel Society of the Southwest,
The Pastel Society of North Florida, The Pastel Society of the Northwest,
The Pastel Society of Oregon.
The International Association of Pastel Societies,
APOW website
