Learn how to paint sunflowers, a Tuscan landscape, and a Venetian scene full of light and color!

Carol Hodgson's vibrant, lively paintings reflect her love of pastels and the versatility of this medium. Using a range of simple and unusual techniques, she shows how to create amazing paintings full of light, texture, and atmosphere.

Emphasizing a free, spontaneous style and explaining the properties of this fascinating medium — and the various surfaces that can be used as a canvas — this convenient guide walks painters through the basic steps of getting started with tips and tricks for an often temperamental medium.

This comprehensive text, full of vital, confidence-building advice, teaches artists how to work upright to avoid dust spoilage, correct mistakes with relative ease, and protect, store, and transport finished works.

Richly illustrated sections showcase color and sketching techniques — such as how varied strokes can be executed with the end or the side of a pastel stick, and how colors can be blended — while planning the layout of each painting is also fully explained.

Carol Hodgson has more than 25 years of experience as a self-employed professional artist. During that time, she has worked in most media, but in recent years her work has reflected a love for soft pastels. She has quickly gained a reputation through her expressive techniques and bold use of color and texture. Throughout her career, she has written for several art magazines and instruction books, and is regularly invited to demonstrate her painting methods for art groups and societies.

Author — Carol Hodgson.

Paperback. 64 pages with 216 color illustrations. 8½" × 11½" (22 cm × 29 cm).