Pastel Painting

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Join our Pastel Painting Facebook Live Demo on 2/2 at 6 p.m. CST, and paint a vase of scarlet poppies using Blick Artists’ Soft Pastels on Canson Mi-Teintes Touch Sanded Papers. The tough, toothy surface of this paper readily accepts these rich, velvety pastels. Follow along step by step, and using ...

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Instructions

  1. Gently trace the template onto the pastel sheet using graphite transfer paper and a pencil, or create a preliminary sketch directly on the surface.
  2. Create a loose background using Dark Blue, Bright Blue, and Mint Green. Blend the colors with a soft brush or your fingers covered with gloves or finger cots.
  3. Place the centers of the poppies using Dark Brown.
  4. Fill the entire poppy area with Medium Red.
  5. Fill the tabletop area with Medium Gray.
  6. Define the vase by outlining it with Dark Blue.
  7. Using a Dark Brown pastel, define the stems and fill the inside area of the vase.
  8. Add background colors to the spaces between the flowers and define the petals’ edges. Tone lightly with Dark Yellow Ochre and Light Blue.
  9. Apply Medium Green to the stems, and add highlights with Light Green.
  10. For the poppies, add highlights with Light Pink and shadows with purple.
  11. Create color harmony and cohesiveness by lightly adding a few strokes of Blue, Violet, Pink, Light Green, and Yellow Ochre in the areas of the tabletop, background, and vase.