The Project
Lesson 4
Draw a self-portrait from your image as seen in a mirror. Use neutral colors.
To be successful with pastels it is helpful to look at the work of those who used pastels in the past. Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas were especially skilled in its use and are perhaps our best instructors in this medium. Look for the following practices in their work: They worked large. Creating details within a small area is difficult when one applies color with a stick. They worked on color backgrounds. It is not unusual to begin with a color background in other media but it is of special benefit when working with pastels. The light colored pastels are opaque when placed over a dark background, creating an immediate contrast of light and dark. They worked in loose strokes, placing color beside color. This is especially suited to pastels because they are difficult to blend.
Materials Flesh tone pastels kneaded eraser cotton ball chamois pastel paper aerosol hairspray mirror References Set up a mirror and observe your face and shoulders in it. Sit your drawing materials in front of you as you face the mirror. NOTE: Self-portrait mirrors are available for art students. These plastic mirrors stand up, making it easy to see a reflection while working from a table.
This work shows how pastels can be applied loosely, while layering one color over another.
Student Gallery
Student work by Geoffrey Lohr uses quick strokes in a layered effect.
LOOK BACK! Did you use light and dark colors to contrast with the neutral background of the color paper?
3 2
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker