Soft Pastels
Pastels are pure powdered pigment mixed with a binder in stick form. Chalk pastels are made from powdered calcium carbonate mixed with pigment or dye to create color and then bound with a binder such as gum arabic, gum tragacanth, or methyl cellulose. We will be using soft pastels which include a very small amount of gum binder leaving them fragile and crumbly, making them easy to blend. Soft pastels also often put out fine dust into the air so it is important to remember to work in a ventilated area or wear a mask if you will be working heavily with soft pastels.
Here are what soft pastels look like:
Tutorial Videos
Basic Techniques
This tutorial shows you how to create a simple painting using soft pastels
This is an additional tutorial that includes using water
An Artist At Work
Here is an interview with artist David Napp. He talks about how he builds layers of color with pastels like he did with oil painting. Read the interview to see how he uses hard and soft pastels to get vibrant colors and strong values in his works.
The Blue Bridge, St. James Park, London
David Napp
David Napp
Works done in soft pastels