In the art world, pastel is a versatile term. It’s a form of painting, and it also means creating a pastel drawing. In addition, there are different types of colors that are referred to as pastels. Creating a pastel painting is using pastels themselves to make an image.

Pastel art is popular worldwide among artists and art lovers alike. Perhaps owing to the fact it is often inspired by real-world scenarios. In this art form, artists take inspiration from real-world objects before portraying them on paper.

Pastels colors are known for their richness and versatility. Soft, hard, pan, pencil, and oil are some of the most common types of pastels in the market right now. They differ from each other in terms of pigment concentration and binding ability. The primary secret to using pastels is to thoroughly understand their nature and learn the unique properties they have in particular. Different techniques are used to make a perfect pastel painting using different types of pastels. You can draw amazing pastel drawings like wall art of birds and beach wall art prints by learning the following techniques:

• Pastel Techniques

The primary challenge any artist painting with pastel colors faces is the right technique to use with different types of pastels. You must keep in mind that pastels are effective on hard surfaces like canvas or burlap. Pastel colors cannot be mixed before their application. Therefore, it can be difficult to alter them once on a surface. Thus, confidence is required to apply pastels on any surface. You can also start with shading with light hands to find the right blend of colors.

• Dry Washing

Pastels stick to the bumps of a surface leaving little space between areas of color. Therefore, dry washing is used to smooth out the colors on the surface. Take a paper towel, a cotton ball or your finger tips and gently rub on the colored surface, spreading the color thinly and evenly.

• Colored Ground

You can use a pre-colored surface to apply pastel colors. Such a surface will have a softening effect on the pastels and also reduce their vibrancy. Otherwise, you can use the hard side of the pastels to cover the whole surface and then dry wash the entire canvas.

• Erasing

It is very difficult to blend or paint over color without loosing vibrancy. You may be left with limited options if you make a mistake. You can use a kneaded eraser to gently erase the mistake from the surface. The eraser helps to lift the particles off the surface, rather than rubbing the color out.

• Blurring

By gently rubbing a cotton ball or your fingertips you can easily make colors blend. It is done to bring the area into sharper focus. Pastels are easier to blend and you make various effects using these colors.

Final Words

Pastels are a simple type of painting medium if you know the key techniques and how to use them. There are thousands of colors that you can use to draw and paint but the way pastels blend with each other is something magical. Learn these tips and paint beautiful birds wall art prints yourself.