STREET ART

SMALT

It's a ground blue potassium glass containing cobalt used among the 15th and the 18th centuries. In Europe the use of smalt as an artist's pigment was widespread certainly as early as the late sixteenth century. Smalt was popular because of its low cost and its manufacture became a specialty of the Dutch and Flemish in the 17th century.  Smalt is a very good dryer.

Pastels can be hard or soft:

* Soft pastels have more pigment and less binder.

*Hard pastels have less pigment and more binder than soft pastels.

Pastel artwork can either be referred to as a “pastel”, a “pastel painting”, or a “pastel drawing”.

The difference between a pastel painting and a pastel drawing:

A pastel painting refers to a pastel artwork in which the paper is fully covered in pastel. If the surface of the paper is not totally covered in pastel and some of the paper underneath shows though, then it is referred to as a pastel drawing.

Blending Pastel

Pastels can be blended in a variety of ways, such as blending with a finger, a tortillon, a Q-tip, a cloth, or a special pastel blending tool that is designed specifically for blending pastels.

Outlines & Background

The first step in creating this pastel painting was to lightly draw the outline of the still life in graphite. This same first step is also used to create realistic watercolor and acrylic paintings.

A light blue pastel was then used to block in the outline of the flowers and vase. The edge of the pastel was used to delineate the detailed outline closest to the flowers, while the flat side of the pastel was used for the broad application of filling in the background.

Smudging & Rubbing

Pastels on the paper can either be left as is, or they can be rubbed to make the surface appear smoother. 

Layering Colors

Another technique of pastel painting is to layer a color over top of a previous layer of color to achieve a new color that is richer and/or more varied in appearance. This can also create a depth to the artwork. Similar techniques can be used when creating acrylic or watercolor paintings.

After adding a new layer of pastel, you can choose to blend the top layer or to leave the new layer as is.

Identifying Main Forms

The important step now is to outline the flowers and the vase with the main colors, which helps define the different forms. This helps you know “where you are” in the composition artwork, and forms the backbone for more layers of pastel.

Adding Details

With the main ideas of the composition outlined, the next step is to work on the details. Any colors that are applied will form the foundation for future layers of color.

Color Groups

When working with pastels, as with most mediums, it is generally wise to simultaneously focus on areas that fall into the same color group.

One reason why it is smart to work in color groups is because pastels are messy. The pastels will leave colored residue on the artist’s fingers, which will need to be washed off before using the next color.