Pastel Basics seeks to create a fun and approachable means of introducing this adaptable medium to beginning artists, illustrating that pastels are accessible to any artist who wants to work with them.

In this new addition to the Artist's Library series, talented master artist, Alain Picard, guides the reader through an exploration of this unique medium and its myriad uses. After an introduction to tools and materials, readers will learn how to use various pastel techniques, including hatching, crosshatching, and stippling, to create depth and dimension in their artwork. Readers will also find basic information on color theory and how to use color to elicit emotion, portray mood or time of day, and suggest depth and distance. Throughout the course of the book, aspiring pastel artists will learn how to use soft and hard pastels to achieve art that is bold and intense or delicate and soft. Easy step-by-step lessons cover a variety of subject matter, including landscapes, portraits, and still lifes. Artist tips and tricks demonstrate how to blend and layer colors and create reflection, shadow, and soft and hard edges. With its breadth of professional instruction and variety of subjects to paint, Mastering Pastel is the perfect resource to start building artist proficiency in this enthralling and versatile medium.

Discover the limitless possibilities of pastels with this beginner’s guide to creating modern, lively, and colorful pastel artwork. Artist and teacher Rebecca de Mendoça offers beginners a complete course in using pastels. Step-by-step exercises and longer projects help you to build the essential skills you need to paint a range of subjects, including landscapes, still life, portraits, and animals. Vital drawing techniques are explained and demonstrated, along with easy-to-follow explanations of color theory, composition, and the pastels themselves. This volume includes techniques for using both hard and soft pastels, eight skill-building projects, and a wealth of finished artwork to provide ideas and inspiration.

Designed for the serious beginner, this volume offers step-by-step advice on painting in oil pastels. Lessons progress simply from easy subjects and techniques to the more difficult and complex. First, artists learn how to use oil pastels to create traditional paintings in still landscape and portraiture. Then the author explores 12 specific experimental techniques, including impasto, washes and monoprint; stencil and screen techniques; and methods for combining pastel with soft pastel and mixed media.

Beginning Pastel guides beginning artists through an exploration of pastel techniques and step-by-step projects for acomprehensive and approachable overview of the vibrant pastel medium. Pastels are a unique tool, and Beginning Pastel is the perfect introductory resource for artists just getting started in this colorful medium. Before jumping into the step-by-step projects, this book covers choosing the right paper, pastels, and colors, to basic techniques like blending, gradating, and masking. Each stroke and technique is clearly explained and beautifully illustrated. After learning the key concepts, you’ll promptly put them into practice through simple step-by-step exercises. With pastel often considered an advanced medium, Beginning Pastel makes the tricky task of drawing in pastel accessible and achievable for any artist. The Portfolio series covers essential art techniques, core concepts, and media with an approach and format that’s perfect for aspiring, beginning, and intermediate artists. Also available from the series: Beginning Acrylic, Beginning Drawing, Beginning Watercolor, Beginning Colored Pencil, Beginning Color Mixing, Expressive Painting, Beginning Color Mixing, Beginning Pen & Ink, and Beginning Composition.

An all-new iteration of the adult coloring book—a gorgeously hand-illustrated storybook for readers to color and cherish, both an enchanting tale and a one-of-a-kind keepsake From coloring book queen Johanna Basford comes a new spin on the world of adult coloring: a lavishly illustrated fable about a little girl named Ivy who stumbles upon a secret door leading to the magical world of Enchantia. Ivy embarks on a quest through its many realms in pursuit of her inky butterfly, meeting whimsical characters and discovering many wondrous things along the way. A charming story that interacts playfully with beautiful, colorable artwork in Johanna's signature style, Ivy and the Inky Butterfly is a one-of-a-kind adventure for readers of all ages to customize, color, and cherish. Printed on specially selected ivory paper. This paper has been specifically created for Johanna Basford’s coloring books. It has a medium tooth which is perfect for creating beautiful colored pencil effects or chalk pastel backgrounds but also wonderful for pens, which will glide effortlessly over its surface.

Revel in the luminous and vibrant qualities of pastel with Ellen Eagle’s essential course in the history, techniques, and practices of the medium. In this comprehensive yet intimate guide, Eagle explores pastel’s rich but relatively unexamined past, reveals her own personal influences and approaches, and guides you toward the discovery and mastery of your own vision. In Pastel Painting Atelier, you will find: • Advice on basic materials: guidance on building, storing, and organizing a collection of pastels; choosing the right paper; and the importance of experimentation • Studio practice suggestions: ideas for creating your ideal working environment and recipes for making your own pastels and supports • Study of the working process: lessons on proportion, gesture, composition, color, application, identifying and correcting problems, and recognizing when a work is finished • Meditation on subject: cues for extrapolating the subtle details, presence, and temporal features of whatever you choose to paint • Step-by-step demonstrations: Eagle’s acute insights into her own works as they progress A magnificent selection of works by masters such as James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Rosalba Carriera, Mary Cassatt, and Eugene Delacroix augment this guide, as do works by contemporary artists including Harvey Dinnerstein, Elizabeth Mowry, and Daniel Massad. Aimed at serious artists, this guide enlightens, instructs, and inspires readers to create brilliant and sensitive works in the historic medium of pastel.