Pastel Is a tactile medium.
My daughter actually doesn’t like the feel of pastels on her fingers. And I simply love it. It is funny because she used to play the guitar and I could not stand the feel of the strings against my fingers.
To each their own.
I recently started a painting and I realized that I do a curious thing with a blank sheet of paper or canvas before I start. I run my hands across the surface. Just restlessly looking and searching for the image. I actually find myself talking to it. (Is that the first sign of “losing it?”) I find my self asking, “Where are you? Can you fit here? Can you live… here? I touch the surface and run my hands across it. Searching. I think about how the layers will be built and where the focus will be and where the image won’t need so much attention. Talking…
A painting is a communion between an artist and their materials. And only after a serious struggle, and a dialogue back and forth can we then communicate to the viewer. So starting a painting “for a show” is putting the cart before the horse. How can you communicate effectively before you know what you want to say? And figure out how you are going to say it? As much as art is a selfish thing for me- a creation, and a “high” to see what I can do, I never ever forget that a painting is a visual novel. It is chapters of what I want to say. An exploration of color, texture, space, materials and most important- a story. And a story needs a reader. So I talk to the painting first to see what we can say together.
And I think one reason that I love pastel so much is the feel of it- it is a sensual medium. Soft and gentle. Captivating and yet powerful. Different sticks have different weights and textures and abilities. I have written before that you have to be a little in love with the medium that you work in. Jamie Wyeth said he could eat his oils paints because he loves them so much. I am not ready to eat my sticks, but I sure do love pastel. She can be a bitch sometimes, but I love her.
And if you don’t love what you are building with your partner (the medium) then you are going to have trouble along the way. Become restless and be tempted to cheat with another medium. If I am trying to create something outside of my wheelhouse and try to create something that I don’t really love doing, I find I won’t give it as much devotion as it really deserves it takes way longer than it should and then I wonder why I am having issues straying off on other tangents.
So love what you do. Love how you do it… and just love each other people.
Soft powdery pastels !
Unlike slimy , sticky, runny or too thick oils .. that tend to get all over your clothes and skin and when dry are a bitch to remove.
Best to stick with ya first love … there is a real strong love affair there !
&leave the Sticky Beast to me LOL !
you got it!!!
I so much do agree!!! I’m in love with soft pastels, like Great Americans, but I’ve been in love with papers all my life…I can remember buying some I knew I wouldn’t use, just because of the touch and the color. I literally caress paper with a finger: are you soft enough? sweet enough? strong enough? Will you agree with all the brands of pastels I like?That’s why I’ve been unhappy for a long time, because all the beautiful 100% coton papers I used have disappeared…Thanks brave new ecological and profit making world! You’ll never find a good paper coming from an ecological mill…It’s an impossibility, well documented by Canadians.
I work on Mi-teintes, but without enthusiasm…There still remains the pleasure of manipulating and touching pastels. I think to work well, you must be in perfect confidence and agreement with your paper and your pastels. It’s a chain of trust and pleasure.
When it’s ruptured, something has been stolen from your soul. Nathalie.
hi- so true! It is love affair with your materials. Give up the Canson paper for something more substantial. My favorite surface is Sennelier Lacarte although for large pieces I use UArt. it is worth the money for the more expensive surfaces. more forgiving and less stress.
Chris–during my first week as classroom assistant for Dan Greene, one of the hobbyist type ladies came over on a break and asked, What do you do about the smell of the oil paint?” Wanting to be helpful and honest, I thought for a moment and answered, perplexed, “I love the smell of oil paint.” She yielded a low shriek, and had an expression that looked like I just told her I was an ax-murderer and went scampering away. HA! And, I think Van Gogh did ingest some oil paint at one point. So, if your stomach starts growling, take a break.
ha! got it!
I’ve been known to say that Pastels are my heart and soul. I feel good when I’m at the easel. I miss it when I’m not. I don’t want to eat mine either! Lol
Amen!
Yes, I know just what you mean. I love walking into my studio and seeing my pastels laying out on my map case. Sometime I also open the drawers of the map case just to enjoy the rainbow of colors. And the touch?????? There is nothing in comparison from the tight texture of Girault to the buttery texture of Schmincke. Love, love, love!!!
its just love!!!!
That was so accurate, Christine! I love paint! Pastel is so much work for me! I just thought I would do a “little drawing in pastel” for a break. Woah! It was so much more work!
When I paint, time stands still! I am somewhere else! It’s amazing how one medium or another makes a difference in your expression!
Great thoughts in this today! Thanks!
you bet!!!