HomeFeatured Visual Arts Pastels by Samantha Long

Pastels by Samantha Long

January 27, 2018 By Reggie Walker Comments are Off

Pastels by Samantha Long

PDF: Pastel Flyer March

Two, three hour sessions – $25.00
10AM to 1PM • March 10th and 17th, 2018
Historic City Hall, Room B
31 N Church St, American Fork

Learn to use pastels to create exciting images on Saturdays 3/10/2018 and 3/17/2018, 10 AM til 1PM at 31 N. Church Street, American Fork, UT (the Old Historic City Hall Bldg). $25 for the class. This is your opportunity to learn how to use pastels in a creative way, to express yourself with this exciting medium. The instructor will demonstrate the wide variety of uses for pastels and then give you the opportunity to play and use the medium yourself. Enjoy a great experience and learn how to paint with pastels.

PASTEL CLASS ART SUPPLY LIST:

  • Soft Pastels
  • 1/4″ Bright Watercolor Brush
  • Pastel Paper
  • Paper Towels
  • Backing Board
  • Painter’s Tape/Bulldog Clips
  • Apron

Additional Items

  • Easel
  • Barrier Cream/Latex Gloves
  • Stumps/Tortillions for blending
  • Kneaded Eraser for blending/light erasing
  • Willow/Vine Charcoal for the drawing stage
  • Workable Spray Fixative
  • Face Mask
  • Still Life Items/Painting Reference

SOFT PASTELS

These should not be confused with oil pastels; they should feel chalky. You will need a set with at least 24 colors. You will have the most fun if you have 5-10 sticks of primary, secondary, tertiary, and earth colors as well as white, black, and a few greys. Any brand you’d like to use is fine. Some brands make sticks that are harder, while others make softer sticks. Some brands I recommend are (from hardest to softest) Rembrandt, Unison, Townsend, Sennelier, and Schmincke.

BRUSH

What you’re looking for is an inexpensive soft bristle brush shaped like a square (Brights are just short Flats). I mainly use a cheap white taklon brush.

PASTEL PAPER

Pastels will adhere to almost any paper, but once you fill up the tooth of the paper, you will not be able to apply any more chalk. You will want a toned paper at least 11″ x 14″ with enough tooth to grab the pastel. Surfaces vary from super rough to super smooth. The rougher the surface, the more layers of pastel you can get to adhere. Canson Mi-Teintes pastel paper or BFK Rives are nice smooth choices. Ampersand Pastelbord, Sennelier LaCarte, or Hot Press Watercolor paper are some nice rough choices. You might want an assortment of smooth and rough to try. I myself prefer a sandpapery surface (like LaCarte) toned to a medium grey. 

BACKING BOARD

You will need something light and sturdy that’s large enough to tape or clip your paper to. A masonite panel or foam core will do the trick. 

Additional Items Notes:

EASEL

I prefer to work with my paper held 90 degrees or more. That way the extra chalk dust falls down, rather than collects on the surface.

BARRIER CREAM

Because of the toxic nature of many of the pigments, you may want barrier cream or gloves to help keep your skin from soaking in these toxins. I recommend Marvelous Marianne’s SkinSafer Barrier Cream.

SPRAY FIXATIVE

Spray fixative can lock layers in place, so any further pastel added will not affect the layers underneath. You may also want to fix your painting when you’re finished to keep the pastel from flaking off. Note, even with spray fixative you can never permanently fix your painting so that it won’t smudge; part of the beauty and frustration of pastel is that your painting is eternally wet. I tend not to use fixative if I can help it. Other artists swear by it. I find it dulls the colors and makes your painting go yellow over time.

FACE MASK

Working in pastel creates a lot of dust, putting those toxic pigments in the air, which we then breathe. We should be fine for just our class, but if you’re a bit sensitive, I would suggest wearing a mask while you work.

STILL LIFE ITEMS/PAINTING REF

I will be setting up a still life for us all to work from. If there is anything particular that you wanted to paint, feel free to bring it in.

  • Where to Purchase: I have found that local craft stores like HobbyLobby and Michael’s don’t give you a lot of options when it comes to art supplies, but you should be able to get the majority of what you will need. I know you can get Rembrandt pastels, a brush, Canson paper, a backing board, tape/bulldog clips, and an apron at Michael’s. Artist’s Corner in Orem usually has quality art supplies and a few more options. I prefer to purchase my supplies online at a site like DickBlick.com or Jerry’s Artarama. It’s usually cheaper, and there are a lot more choices.