KATHIE MIRANDA'S ART BLOG

Pastels Explorations

on Toned La Carte Paper

I love to draw and I love to paint: with pastels, I can do both at the same time.

Pastels can be applied to just about any paper surface but colored grounds are my favorite.  The ground color ground influences the appearance of the pastels, especially when bits of the paper show through the final work.

I begin by taping the edges of the paper to create a border around the work:

First Layers

I select a range of hard pastels to begin the painting.  CarbOthello pastel pencils and NuPastel sticks are perfect for this as they do not over-fill the paper tooth, allowing for subsequent layers.

Sometimes drawing with the tip of the pastel and sometimes sweeping color across the surface like a paint brush, the first layers are applied. I'm careful to suggest values and overlapping planes right from the start.

Detail of First Layers

Switching to a medium soft pastel, Rembrandt brand, I continue to add layers of pastels to describe the local colors of the rocks, lichen and ivy leaves.

For the rough texture of the rocks, I scrape the sides of the pastel sticks against a straight-edge razor directly over the painting surface.  These speckles of color are then pressed into the paper surface with a palette knife.

Local Colors

This layering process follows the oil painting idea of "fat over lean".

Because I prefer to use many layers of color in my work, each layer is lightly applied to ensure the paper does not become overly saturated with pigment.  The many colors used are visible in finished work, much like a pointillist painting.

The final layers are saved for touches of soft, buttery pastels such as Sennelier and Diane Townsend brands.

On the Rocks 2
Pastel on Paper 12" x 9" (image size)
© Kathie Miranda