Richard McKinley’s Pastel Pointers Blog

Pastel artists have to face the inevitable day when they must package their precious pastel paintings for shipment and place them in the hands of a package carrier for delivery. To ensure safe transport, no matter the media, there are certain packaging standards that every artist should follow, such as extra cushioning space around the artwork and a strong outer shell. When packaging a pastel painting, additional precautions need to be taken to protect the glazing from breakage and reduce the potential of dusting-off from extreme mishandling. Full Article

A frequent question I hear at workshops is, “How can I loosen up as a painter?” After devoting years to learning craft, many painters often find themselves trapped in utilitarian methods that may render a competent painting but lack the elusive poetic quality of more painterly works. Just as a poet plays with syntax to express his thoughts (think e.e. cummings), so too must the painter. We start with a basic study or drawing, value relationship, color harmony, and media mastery. These are our syntactical starting points. How we orchestrate them ultimately becomes the poetic statement. Full Article

In last week’s blog post, I started the discussion of basic pastel techniques, covering blending, scumbling and glazing. These are techniques often associated with wet painting, which can be easily adapted to pastel. This week I will discuss hatching, cross-hatching and feathering. These techniques rely more on mark-making and are closely associated with drawing. Whether you consider your pastel approach to be more painter or draftsman, being practiced in all the various techniques will ultimately make you a better artist. Full Article