Without realizing it, we often pick up on color theory, whether in artwork, room design, or furniture patterns. Color theory describes the relationships that colors have with one another. Think about a color wheel. A color wheel is a representation of these relationships. Like other relationships in our lives, colors have ways that they work together—primary, […]
By John, Age 11 One of the best ways to practice drawing or painting is to use the actual object as a reference instead of a photograph. This is true if you’re using pastels, too. So for this lesson, you’ll be drawing an object from life in pastel. SUPPLIES: • Soft Pastels (these are the chalky […]
Pastel paper differs from regular drawing paper in that it has a tooth, or textured surface, for the pastels to hold on to. The more tooth the surface has, the more layers of pastels it can hold. These papers are available in a wide range of colors, from white to soft blues and yellows to […]
Hard pastels differ from soft pastels in that they have more binder and less pigment. Because of this, they are stronger and do not break as easily as soft pastels, but they also do not have the brilliance of color that soft pastels do (the brightness of the color decreases as the amount of gum […]
If you purchase an art kit from a store or catalog, it will most likely include oil pastels among the markers and colored pencils. The size and shape of crayons, these pastels are a favorite with young artists, producing vibrant colors that are easily blended. Because inert oils and wax are used as a binder […]
The French scientist Nicolas-Jacques Conté invented the square conte crayons in the late eighteenth century. They are made of a mixture of compressed graphite and clay and come in a range of colors, the most popular being black, dark brown, grey, white, and red-brown. These crayons are harder and thinner than traditional soft pastels, so […]
If you draw with pastels, you know that they are never permanently “set” on the paper; brush against them with a finger, and they will smudge. To lessen this problem, some artists use fixative with their pastels. There are many brands of fixative available in stores, ranging from about $5.00 to $25.00. A less-expensive route […]