In the summer I usually give at least one music lesson a week to someone who wants to get better at her instrument. I always recommend that she listen to a professional musician on that instrument to know what the goal sound should be.
This summer, I was thinking about that in regards to pastels. I have seen pastel paintings, but did not know any particular style or pastel artist that I knew or liked. So, I decided to search for one until I found what I liked.
Then I found Alain Picard’s work. I originally looked at his portraits, which are gorgeous and very realistic. https://www.portraitsbypicard.com/links# I would love to be able to do that in pastel one day. Then I saw his impressionistic style. https://www.picardstudio.com/landscape I love his work in this style, as well. It’s so happy and interesting to look at. I knew I had found the style I wanted to emulate.
In this video tutorial https://youtu.be/HBSA7d8oRBQ, he creates a loose, painterly style painting of a photo he took of an apple. I had my pastels and sanded paper ready and, as I watched the video, I followed what he did (not exactly every stroke of course), tried to use similar colors, and listened to what he suggested while drawing on my own.
It made such a difference to have a guide. I saw his method, the steps he took, his setup, and which colors he used for different values. It really helped me to grasp this style a little more. After following his video with the apple, I tried to do it on my own with a photo of a pear. It wasn’t quite as good because I struggle with knowing which colors to use, since I am used to drawing in pencil. But I definitely had a better understanding of the style that I want to be able to create. I am happy with how it turned out.
So, create 6eauty by searching for art you can strive to emulate.
CREATE 6eauty 