An Artist’s Experience: 5 Day Pastel Challenge with Nina Squire, by Mary Waterfall
I am so glad I did this challenge, and I would urge anyone, however nervous to sign up to any future ones, I certainly will.
Soft Pastel Stories
Colourful Chronicles
Learn new techniques, hear artist's stories, and stay up to date on Soft Pastel News.
My Journey with Pastel
I have always had an interest in drawing, particularly realism. Bringing my subjects to life is always a challenge and very rewarding.
My Pastel Journey as an Untrained Artist
Maybe it was a ‘Sliding Doors’ moment of walking past a Spanish art shop that had a box of pretty pastel sticks in their window display in the centre of Palma.
Soft Pastel and Clear Gesso Technique
A six step guide to using Clear Gesso with Soft Pastel, by Cory Goulet. Achieve interesting shapes, texture and depth with this simple guide.
If At First You Don’t ‘Quite’ Succeed
'I have many times felt that I have lost the excitement and energy of the initial underpainting stage by overuse of pastel, and I felt that had perhaps happened here when I considered the finished work.'
Following Your Artistic Path
'The point is to stay on your path, find what excites you, see where it goes and hopefully enjoy the journey that never ends.'
5 Day Pastel Challenge with Nina Squire
Unison Colour and Associate Artist, Nina Squire, are excited to announce the next 5 Day Pastel Challenge starting 9am (UK time) Monday 1st February, running for 5 consecutive days.Over the course of the 5 days Nina will challenge you to create ‘Old Harry’- a mixed landscape of skies, sea and beach with the iconic Dorset landmark…
Take it Outside (and your comfort level)!
I am always amazed at how many pastel artists have always wanted to paint “en plein air” (out in the open air) but were hesitant to try.
Starting out with Soft Pastels
With so many art materials available to us out there, it can be difficult to know where to start. My “safe” zone for many years was graphite and coloured pencil but even with those, now that I know more, I realise I was only using them to a tiny fraction of their potential.
Reinventing The Lady of Shalott
We all need inspiration to work, something that captivates us and sets off fireworks in our soul. For me it will be nature, clouds, skies, reflections, which are all my daily recharge.
Finding your Mojo, when all creative ideas desert you
For many of us, art is a refuge, a place of comfort. It is something we turn to at all points in our life, a place to escape to. For some, it’s vital as it pays the mortgage whilst for others it equals in importance as a therapy for anxiety and depression.
When Pastels Equal Freedom
I spent my childhood drawing cartoons, but never really imagined I could do much more artistically. I chose music classes over art and chose environmental education over music when it came time to choose a career.
