10 of My Favourite Unison Colour Pastels
I know what you are all thinking – how can you choose just 10! It was a challenge, but here I have chosen 10(ish!) of my favourite Unison Colour pastels with a brief guide on how I use them.
Delve into our vast collection of guest blogs and read about the intriguing methods that artists apply while using Unison Colour pastels.
I know what you are all thinking – how can you choose just 10! It was a challenge, but here I have chosen 10(ish!) of my favourite Unison Colour pastels with a brief guide on how I use them.
Coming from years living on both coasts of Scotland you would think painting the sea would come as easy as breathing; nothing is further from the truth.
Up until four years ago I hadn’t picked up a paint brush or pencil since school. As a child I would draw and colour all the time and was in awe of nature.
Nigel Smith’s story begins as a child, but it’s not until his 40s, when spurred on by family members at a time dealing with grief and mental health problems, that he puts his art in to action.
We were planning to spend 3 weeks in the south of France and I decided to take my pastels with me. After all, how much fun could it be in such a lovely area without a little pastel painting time?!
I was recently contacted by Gaye Sekula, a co-ambassador for South Texas for the Portrait Society of America (PSoA). She asked for my help in setting up a “Face-off” event on behalf of PSoA here in Corpus Christi, Texas.
In Ireland we have a saying: ‘Tus maith, leath na hoibre’ – or, ‘A good start is half the work’. So true in the case of animal art. Getting a good look at your subject and getting a good reference is often not only half the work, but also half the fun!
I can’t even draw a stick figure.”
Have you ever said that? Have you ever heard someone say it? It’s usually said with a bit of embarrassed cynicism.
I fell in love with pastels from the moment I first saw their lustrous sheen on paper. Being a self-taught artist, I had muddled through prior efforts to paint with watercolours, acrylics, coloured pencils and more.
With a grin I sometimes introduce myself as the mad lady who paints the hill. Roundway Hill near Devizes in Wiltshire and the surrounding fields are my subject as I love to observe them every day.
Isn’t it exciting when you stumble onto something that is totally new? That is what happened when a colleague and I were developing a series of workshops on creative underpaintings for pastel. While experimenting and asking “what if?” the technique of “Floating Pastel” was created.
I was first introduced to pastel painting by a friend about 10 years ago when I admired what I thought was an oil painting.
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