Sennelier - Colours and materials for artists - How to ...

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		Soft pastels

	This soft and velvety material offers numerous possibilities for colours and for brush strokes. As they are easy to use and pleasant to handle, pastels offer multiple ways to render the most realistic effects. Colours Dry pastels are not miscible. Consequently, Sennelier offers you a range of 525 shades. They may be applied in powder with a brush or using the finger to obtain a smooth impasto. You may overlap or juxtapose them or apply them in flat tint to compensate the impossibility to mix them. Surfaces A paper suited for pastels must retain the colour without rubbing the pastel too rapidly, as the latter tends to crumble. Sennelier Pastel Card is unique as it retains the powder thanks to its micro-particles. Its surface, because it is rough, retains pastel powder easily. Techniques Dry pastels must be held horizontally for layouts and vertically for details, thin lines. Always work from top to bottom. This way, the excess of powder won't damage your previous work.

			Although dry pastels cannot be used for a thick work of art, the term 'impasto' designates a heavy colour mark which 'fills' the paper. These marks are all the more heavy as the pastel is extra-soft (Sennelier Pastel 'à l'écu' is the best example of it) and as the paper 'catches' well the colour (like Pastel cards).
	Impasto

			Hatchings are parallel lines of the same colour or of different colours. It gives more effect to surfaces and lines, whether they are horizontal, vertical or diagonal. Counter-hatching is a good way to accentuate and shade dark zones.
	Hatchings

			Glazing consists in applying a thin layer of pastel on top of a fixed colour. It enables to add a touch of transparency. Glazing is applied in slight layouts with a clean pastel.
	Glazing

			Dotting consists in juxtaposing colour strokes to obtain a spotty result. The brush stroke may be a simple colour point or short or long lines.
	Dotting

			A scumble stain is the overlap of thin layers of colours. It is especially adapted to cloudy skies. It may also be considered as a 'pastel blending'.
	Scumble Stain

			A dry wash consists in spreading pastel powder directly on paper. It enables to create subtle colour variations in the blending, especially when it is done with a finger.
	Dry washes

			When using pastels, colour highlights are the last brush strokes. They enable, with a pure colour adapted to the subject, to materialise the impact of light.
	Highlights

	Tips Always blow on your pastels before using them. Rubbing them brings out the powder and could 'damage' your colours. When you are painting, shake regularly your support to bring down the powder. It is better to work on a slightly bent easel, so the powder drops naturally. You may break your dry pastels, this way it will be easier for layouts, and you will be able to use them freely either horizontally, or vertically. Contact with the support will be even more pleasant. With pastels, the colour of the paper is part of the final result. Sennelier Pastel card offers 14 different hues. You may fix your work once it is finished, this way colours won't change.