Pastel Board Discovery

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I have been doing a bit of work in pastels. I have never had a class on using them, or even read about how to draw with them.  But I am enjoying the discovering thier properties.

What I love about them is that they are a combo of painting and drawing, my two favorite things, and are easy to transport.

What I don't love about them is the mess, and the way they instantly dry out my hands and make them filthy, and the  dust is a health hazard. I  keep it to a minimum by having a damp blanket of newsprint under me, which I can carefully roll up and throw away.  

I am giving a pastel lesson in school, and the school pastels are of poor quality. So is the pastel paper I have.  Combine those two and it makes for a frustrating experience - nothing like Sennalier pastels over sanded paper.  After  making a half dozen drawings on various papers tonight  in preparation for class,  and all but one of them ending in frustration, I remembered the 6 bottles of Art Spectrum Primer that I had bought!

I painted a thin coat  of dark blue over a piece of scrap mat board, and was thrilled with the surface it created.  It was almost as nice as my expensive pastel papers!

So tomorrow, I will teach the student how to prime their boards, and it should make the pastel experience a bit more enjoyable.

Tonight's photos of my experimentations. Top is a pastel drawing with a dirty water wash (haha), and then detailed in unblended pastel, and the bottom is  pastel over the primed mat board. 

(ps I showed them to my students, and they were motivated by them and the priming experience, so we shall see how it pans out! Results to follow!)

Comments

Bellsys said…
Isn't it great to learn something new? What a dramatic difference in the two pieces. Your students are lucky to have you sharing your talents with them.
7:16 AM
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