Back to painting kitties again! And furthermore, back to using pastels again. It’s been some time since using this amazing medium, and I was in the mood to rediscovering them. For this piece, I was merely going back to practicing and thought a good start would be something simple yet of course, cute!
Sketching
I of course began with sketching whatever came to mind. Although Little One would have been a great choice, perhaps something different this time? Animals are always great, and hence a bunch of cats! Lots of naughty happy ones too. Although a bit pricey, Pastelmat Paper by Clairfontaine is a recommended. They are quite thick to begin with (360 gsm!) and hence sturdy, plus the toothy surface helps hold the pastel pigments, so not too messy to work with. Another bonus is that each sheet of paper is accompanied with a thin shielding sheet to protect your work from smudging. With an assortment of colors to choose from, I went for tan this time. Here, I went for Derwent’s Pastel Pencil. So far so good…
Coloring In…
A combination of Pan Pastels and pastel blocks were used for filling in the subjects. As you can see, the colors come out so beautifully! Although a medium I only occasionally use, I have to say I am loving the results of pastels. The larger areas are colored in with the Pan Pastels, whilst the smaller with pastel blocks or pencils. One of the wonderful things about Pan Pastels is how much less messy and dusty they are. No need to keep washing your sponges between color changes; you just need to gently wipe them on a dry paper towel and can rest assured no trace of the last color is visible. As the tan paper is a warm tone, I merely chose the cooler colors like purple, blue and emerald green. And here we go!
Very happy with how it all turned out! Now wondering once again why I don’t use pastel mediums more often? The colors come out so strong and rich, and I love that velvety texture, something even paints cannot achieve. Whilst the Pan Pastels and the Pastelmat paper are tucked away in cupboards, they really need to see the light of the day more. As such, I ought to make a promise to myself to do a pastel painting every week, if not every two. Look forward to creating more kawaii with this medium, as my colorful cats have proven!
My Kawaii Quarter 