Pastels

I thought I'd open with an artist that was previously unknown to me until researching further.
Witkiewicz:

The energy and force of these pastels engage the viewer with drawing from the figure, offering a powerful point of view.


Pastels are made of powdered, color pigment bound with gum and molded to form a stick. They are used academically for beautifully realized, observed images such as this La Tour:


and given their ability for a soft, luminous appearance, pastels also provide for mysterious, mythological spaces such as the Redons posted here:


Colored chalks have been used since cave dwelling humans drew on walls,

but were established as a painting medium between the 16th and 18th centuries.

Chardin:


Because pastel sticks are formed with the minimum amount of binder, they are generally the most pure form of pigment applied to a surface. Artists may choose to run ventilation fans, wear protective masks or gloves, and all should avoid inhaling or ingesting materials.

Pastel allows for a rich range of works from the most subtle, delicate surfaces, such as:

Antonio Mancini:

and Ronai Rippl:

to full valued, sculpturally defined spaces such as those by Medveczky, Whistler, Sargent, Degas, and Witkin.
Medveczky:

Whistler:

Sargent:

Degas:

Jerome Witkin:


Pastel is also inherantly vibrant, and artists such as Soyer, Valadon, Rego, and Lautrec to name but a few, use the saturation of pastels to their advantage:
Soyer:

Valadon:

Rego:



Lautrec:


From Rosalba Carriera to Degas and Boccioni, to Cadmus and Jim Dine; pastels span centuries, artistic movements, and cultural diversity.
Carriera:

Degas:

Boccioni:

Cadmus:

Jim Dine:


They awaken the intellect to the psychology of the human condition,
R.B. Kitaj:


Jim Dine:

David Jandi:


and Paula Rego:


Witkiewicz:

Ilka Jedo:

Pastels as narratives, engage us socially and politically.
Picasso:

Boccioni:

Katherine Doyle:


Lincoln Perry:

Degas:

Like all forms of art, they engage our spirit and encourage a voice.
Chris Offili:

Cadmus:

providing mystery, potential worlds, myth, and symbolism.
Redon:

Moskowitz:



These diverse works created with pastel encouraged me to focus on a medium that is sometimes placed to the side or forgotten in relationship to drawing. Asking students to work with the medium encouraged me to revisit it as well. When I pick pastel up again, or revisit works by masters, it's simple to remember what is so lovely about this powdery, rich material, so very likeable. Pastel is similar to charcoal, familiar and forgiving, with a great range of value. It is powerful when pressed, quiet when held softly,...layerable, tender, raucous; it is a flexible, expressive material, and because it's held by the hand so directly, intimate and engaging at its most basic level.

From Boccioni to Barocci:



and Mancini to Cassatt,



it is delicious, sensual, mysterious, and alive.

Students sometimes ask how artists create such sculptural, defined spaces with bulky tools.
I think most everything I've ever accomplished has been through patience, thoughtfulness, or worded differently, acute tactile, visual awareness ...Through layering and allowing these materials to give, and knowing when enough has been said.

Kitaj:

Some artists use soft pastel pencils along with the bulkier sticks, some sand a corner down to control an edge, most work from the dark up to the light and from the harder to the softer..brands will tell you what they are and within them, experimenting will convince you further.
I generally begin with black chalk and work up towards color, but I've also worked with color on self toned paper or something like canson and moved both towards the dark and light in opposite directions from the mid-toned paper. The needs of the image dictate how you approach the surface. Content drives you to want particulars from the paper and the paper lets you know what it's willing to give.

Wayne Thiebaud:


Artists work on many supports from bristol board to sanded or textured, pastel papers, and from watercolor papers to gessoed surfaces. The same diversity applies to pastel choice. I work with nupastels beneath softer pastels including Sennelier, Unison, and Schminke, but if you visit catalogues on line, you will see a much larger selection, and by trying a few sticks from different brands you'll get a feeling for what fits your hand and aesthetic. This is a sampling of what's been done with pastels, but around every corner, you can be sure artists are pushing the limits further, mixing materials, re-casting the role of pastels in contemporary art as well as giving us a look in time.