Refreshing your creative spark

Right after I finished this piece I took a vacation from pastel painting and going to painting classes, and choose instead to attend a Raku pottery class.
What a great idea! I had a blast! Working in 3D changed the way I look at things and gave me a new perspective. The process of working with clay and firing the Raku pieces was magical. "Its like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get...". Anyway, I had some clay left over and I've been working in the garage making all sorts of interesting things to fire Raku style (and taking care of my Christmas list in the process). I managed to get this one framed, though, and it looks good.

Taking classes

There are many ways to learn to paint: from books, videos, regular classes, workshops, to name a few.
I find going to a regular pastel class very beneficial, for a number of reasons. One being that, since I already paid for it, I'm likely to attend and work hard. Another is the group environment, where you get to socialize with fellow students and learn from each other. The obvious one of having a teacher must not be forgotten. I am currently taking classes with Margaret Holland at the Calgary School of Art, and I'm very happy with her instruction.
I use all four aforementioned methods and enjoy them all.

This painting was part of a class project, were we all worked from the same photograph using the same paper (Canson Mi-Teintes). It was interesting to see the results - we each have our own style and the paintings looked very different from one another. Private collection.

Learning from the Masters - take 2

Here is another example of a transcription, this time from Matisse. It doesn't matter what Master you choose to learn from, the exercise will sharpen your skills, increase your confidence and give you a chance to paint without worrying about composition, form or colour. There are many sites on the Internet that have pictures of famous works of art; alternatively your local library will have a vast collection of art books. A color photocopy will be very helpful, specially if you choose to transfer the image onto your paper by applying charcoal or graphite to the back and tracing it. Above all relax and have fun.

Learning from the Masters - take 2

It is a good practise, encouraged in many art schools, to "transcribe" the work of Masters in order to learn from them. For the purpose of learning techniques it is not imperative that you copy the paintings exactly, but that you use the framework of a fully finished painting as a reference point for practising mark making with your pastels.
Van Gogh is one of my favourite painters, and I practise with his work often.
The objective is to develop confidence with the medium, practise techniques as you work, and above all to have fun!

Surfaces and supports - PastelMat

I find PastelMat to be a very nice surface to work with. It shares the depth of tooth with sandpaper without the harshness. This means that pastels (specially PanPastels) adhere quite well to it, blending and erasing are a bit more difficult and fixatives are not required. Also there is very little dust produced while working on these surfaces, always a good thing.

I call this painting "The leaning Lighthouse of Peggy's Cove", and was created using PanPastels, soft and hard pastels on PastelMat paper.

Surfaces and supports - sandpaper

Here is another example of painting on sandpaper: a Tuscan window overlooking a vineyard.
Painted using PanPastels and hard pastels.

Surfaces and supports - sandpaper

I find artist's quality sandpaper very nice to work with, as long as I don't try to blend with my fingers...
It has a rough surface that pigments adhere to quite well.
It works well with PanPastels, specially if you use the SofftTools that come with them.
This painting or Reader's Rock Garden was done on sandpaper using PanPastels and hard pastels.
Artist's quality sandpaper is not found at your local hardware store, but in your Art Supply stores. It is acid free and of archival quality. Private collection.

Surfaces and supports - paper

Here is another example of painting on coloured paper.
This group of old milk bottles was painted using PanPastels and hard pastels on Ingres green paper.

Surfaces and supports - paper

This painting of a plate of mangoes was done on blue Ingres paper, using PanPastels and soft pastels. The paper colour shows through in places.
Pastel paper comes in many colours, and you can use this to complement your painting.
Private collection.

Surfaces and supports

Pastels are very versatile and can be applied to almost any surface that has some texture for the pastel to hold on to. Shiny stuff will not work!
There are several makes of pastel paper, pastel board, velour paper, sandpaper, and PastelMat.
Some types of pastels work better on certain kinds of papers, I found.
For instance PanPastels are too soft for Strathmore Pastel paper, it just doesn't stick. But it works great on sandpaper or PastelMat.
Or a type of "velour" paper, very soft, like the one used to paint this flower. This velour paper is very interesting to work with, blending is more difficult - and careful planning is required, as erasing is not easy either.
There is so much available these days that can be confusing at first. If you are just starting out exploring the wonderful world of pastels, start with the Strathmore Pastel paper. It comes in assorted colours and is relatively inexpensive. Canson Mi-teintes and Fabriano (these people have been making paper since 1264!) are favourites with most pastelists for their versatility and range of colours.