Pastels – Don’t Be Afraid to Course Correct
In my opinion, the vibrancy and depth of pastel colors are unrivaled. My Favorite thing, however, is the bold freedom of expression that they allow the artist.
They Are a Dry Medium
Why do I love this? I am never racing the clock. I can create as slowly or as quickly as I want because my work is not dependent on drying times. Sometimes I just need to step away from a piece of work to gain some clarity. Other times (most of the time) my work is very spontaneous and my approach is very gestural. This allows for expressive immediate results that are not slowed down by waiting for layers to dry.
Easily Rework a Composition and Correct Mistakes
I LOVE the ability to easily correct mistakes or completely rework a composition (especially on UArt paper). Something I enjoy doing to get the creative juices flowing is working at a rather frantic pace on smaller pieces. I just go crazy with the mark-making and see where I end up. Sometimes this works out great! Other times I end up with funky color choices and blobby trees.
Scary Pink Blob Tree
Time to Course Correct
The beauty in this is that I feel free to experiment because I know that I can course correct! Did I get some funky looking trees? Yup! Did I experiment with a pink underpainting in the sky that I let peep through in spots? Yup! I didn’t love the trees but I did love the rustic nature of the pink showing through in the sky and at the tree edges.
Editing a pastel painting is rather easy. For this piece, I first dusted off the pink tree and yellow forsythia with a dry paintbrush. I have a door in my studio that leads to the side garden so I prefer to do this outside and then blow the dust off. I then wet the brushed off area with rubbing alcohol and a paintbrush to recreate an underpainting and gain as much tooth back as possible. At this point, repainting can begin. For this piece, I increased the amount of sky and painted a more muted simplified tree; inspired by my peach trees that are now covered in buds.
Ready to Be Reworked
In Progress
Simplified Tree
Before and After
I wound up with a composition that I enjoyed far more. I also gained valuable experience regarding mark-making and what I find appealing in a painting. The flexibility of pastels allows for the freedom to be more carefree in your process.
Insights
I was able to carry the experiences and insights gained from working on the original painting into my next painting. That’s the beauty of the process!
