PASTELS: SOFT, WONDERFUL COLOR STROKES

  Wet or dry, soft or firm, pencils or sticks, pastels offer beginning students changeability of form, freedom from erasing, and delight in color mixing. In learning to handle pastels confidently, we bagan with several class skill practices. These were very simple shape and color blends to acquaint our non-art, immigrant students with blends, color layering, and setting pastels with water. Come along and join us in these practices!

  We began with a simple color blending exercise from light to dark values. As a blending tool, cardboard boxes were cut up into 2.5"X.5" strips. These provided many blending stumps at no cost.

  The first blend is a simple 2 color value of turquoise to blue. The second used yellow and turquoise which formed green, and then blue or purple at the base. The last began with white, added red which formed pink, extended the red and added blue to from purple. The hues were ixed on 9"X12" manila paper which was used for all color exercises. It's a nice contrast with pastels.

SIMPLE SHAPES, WET AND DRY

  Our second practice would be on 12"x18" manila paper, folder into 3rds and then in half. Each area contained a simple object sketched in a light pastel. We worked on 2 or e different shapes at a time, alternating between wet and dry techniques. This would give the wet layer a chance to dry as we moved over to another dry area.

  We began with a dry technique. The word "parallel" was emphasized in constructing the open box. Students were to see the resultant blends of red+green, and another dark hue rather than black as the darkest value.

  Here's the steps taken to blend hues at different times. Color was loosely applied and water brushed in to set the pastels. While wet, we would often draw into it again, as color intensity lightens although hues appear darker while wet. A background was added last.

  We also alternated from the first wet layer of one shape's application to that of another. Then 2 shapes would be drying while working on a third dry one. This shape was to use more neutral hues for blending and create them with complements. The shape was completed and left to dry. White was the last layer applied into wet brushed vein lines.