Books Reviews

Pastel Painting – Book Review

By Angela Youngman Dec 3, 2012, 15:57 GMT

All soft pastel painting enthusiasts will benefit from this in-depth instruction manual from three respected and well-loved pastel artists. Starting with advice on materials, it moves on to pastel basics such as color mixing, adding water to pastels, blending, adding tone, and using a limited palette. There are sections that include landscape painting with advice on composition and painting trees and water, how to capture light in pastels, and how ...more

If you want a book to help you develop your technique when painting with pastels, this is definitely the book to choose.  A step by step guide, it is extremely comprehensive covering a wide range of styles and techniques. 

You can learn how to master creating tone, color blending, composition and perspective.  Then there are the individual sections on projects like painting landscapes, seascapes or flowers which give inspiration as well as useful tuition. 

There are 13 separate demonstrations which can be followed including using photographs and sketches, painting an old tree, a step by step guide to developing atmosphere when painting a moonlit stroll and even painting potted plant.  The book links together the skills of three artists who bring their specialist knowledge to each subject covered.  

An very useful book for both novices and more experienced artists.