Pastel Work

How To:

• Through pastels students explore the transition from light to dark
• With the simple shapes of vegetables and strong studio lighting they examine the dark shapes of shadows through to the bright highlights
• This is taught through demonstration using a viewfinder for composition
• The drawing is intially done in charcoal focusing on placement
• The darkest areas are blocked in, then using pastels the students begin working from black through the greys finally to white
• Three shades of grey along with black and white have been used in these pastel paintings
• The artwork can be re-worked with charcoal making any adjustments
• Students are encouraged to squint to help separate the tones
• Using 1-2cm pieces of pastel it is "swiped" onto paper using the broad side
• The picture can be re-worked up to three times, or as much as the paper will allow, trying to develop and oil painting quality

Copyright 2004 Zart Art & Zart Education Service