Pastels are a wonderful color medium that allow you to get rich , bold colors down rather quickly. Lightly sanded paper allows the pastels to blend into this rich creamy color, perfect for skin tones. After my students have gone through basic drawing skills and learned about value and color theory, they can move into color mediums like pastel.
Susan Loop is one student that has recently fallen in love with pastels. She comes each week with no less than three new pastel portraits done for review.
Here’s what she has to 
say: 
“I’ve been under Audrey’s tutelage for 3 years now. During that time, I progressed from pencil drawings to acrylic paintings. Although I enjoy acrylic painting, I still felt I had not found my niche. Then, Audrey introduced me to pastels. I love the freedom and creativity you get from pastels. There is something freeing about getting your hands dirty using pastels. The transition from paints to pastels has come naturally. I really appreciate Audrey and the skills she has helped me to develop, and for letting loose the pastel beast I never knew existed.” Susan Loop
Pastel can take on different looks with different painting surfaces. Students experiment with different kinds of paper and pastel boards. Adding water or alcohol to the paint can also give you different effects. Pastel is such a fun medium! Susan’s portraits were done on Uart sanded paper and pastel was applied directly to the paper.
If you are interested in learning more about pastels, contact me for lessons or to set up a workshop. Audrey Bottrell
