What do you think?
Rate this book
Beginning Pastel: Tips and techniques for learning to paint in pastel
Pastels are a unique tool, and Beginning Pastel is the perfect introductory resource for artists just getting started in this colorful medium.
Beginning Pastel guides beginning artists through an exploration of pastel techniques and step-by-step projects for a comprehensive and approachable overview of the vibrant and unique pastel medium.
From choosing the right paper, pastels, and colors, to basic techniques like blending, gradating, and masking, Beginning Pastel is the perfect resource for artists just getting started in the world of pastels. Starting with a blank canvas, each stroke and technique is clearly explained and beautifully illustrated.
Master key concepts quickly, and then promptly put them into practice through simple step-by-step exercises . Often considered an advanced medium, Beginning Pastel makes the tricky task of drawing in pastel accessible and achievable for any artist.
Beginning Pastel guides beginning artists through an exploration of pastel techniques and step-by-step projects for a comprehensive and approachable overview of the vibrant and unique pastel medium.
From choosing the right paper, pastels, and colors, to basic techniques like blending, gradating, and masking, Beginning Pastel is the perfect resource for artists just getting started in the world of pastels. Starting with a blank canvas, each stroke and technique is clearly explained and beautifully illustrated.
Master key concepts quickly, and then promptly put them into practice through simple step-by-step exercises . Often considered an advanced medium, Beginning Pastel makes the tricky task of drawing in pastel accessible and achievable for any artist.
- GenresArtNonfiction
128 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2017
29 people are currently reading
458 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 10, 2025
Good instruction for creating pastel landscapes.
I read most of this book while sitting in the waiting room at the Toyota dealership a few days ago. I had running boards installed on my car and it took nearly three hours! Fortunately I'd just picked up a package containing this book at the post office right before I left town for my journey, and I therefore had something to read!
As you can imagine, if I read it that fast it must have been because there were not a lot of words on each page. That is true. But the illustrations are gorgeous! The author's pastel work is very impressive.
The book told me just about everything I need to get started making my own pastel drawings. The author says they are pastel "paintings" and I have a bit of a hard time saying that... so I'll stick with "drawings" for now.
The main shortcoming of this book, for me, is that only landscape drawings were featured in the book along with one page for still life drawings and one for buildings. The author does not do portraits of any kind (human or animal) so I'll have to read another book about that, if I want to go in that direction. I don't see myself as a producer of landscape art, usually. Doesn't hurt to learn, however. I appreciate the instructions and will give it a try.
I read most of this book while sitting in the waiting room at the Toyota dealership a few days ago. I had running boards installed on my car and it took nearly three hours! Fortunately I'd just picked up a package containing this book at the post office right before I left town for my journey, and I therefore had something to read!
As you can imagine, if I read it that fast it must have been because there were not a lot of words on each page. That is true. But the illustrations are gorgeous! The author's pastel work is very impressive.
The book told me just about everything I need to get started making my own pastel drawings. The author says they are pastel "paintings" and I have a bit of a hard time saying that... so I'll stick with "drawings" for now.
The main shortcoming of this book, for me, is that only landscape drawings were featured in the book along with one page for still life drawings and one for buildings. The author does not do portraits of any kind (human or animal) so I'll have to read another book about that, if I want to go in that direction. I don't see myself as a producer of landscape art, usually. Doesn't hurt to learn, however. I appreciate the instructions and will give it a try.
August 28, 2018
I might revisit this book once I've gained some proficiency in pastel and have a giant drawing board and giant paper to work with. The examples are gorgeous and I would love to study them more when I can do them justice. Unfortunately the steps in the tutorials...well, they aren't tutorials because tutorials describe the steps, which this book doesn't, and that's just not enough for me at this point in time. I also can't layer my colors the way I would need to to follow the images, so I need to step up my material quality as much as drawing space size--pastel feels clunky on a standard sketch paper drawing nuanced scenes.
December 26, 2017
I won this book as part of the Goodreads Giveaway program. I am the librarian for a large Art League in Arizona and I was really pleased to add this book to our collection. It is an excellent book for people who want to learn more about pastel painting. It is filled with information on anything you would want to know about all types of pastels. There are a lot of techniques and the author is very knowledgeable plus it includes amazing beautiful pictures.
November 5, 2022
Nice foundation for an art student
First chapter covered some quick basics in using pastels. The remainder of the book gives some guidance with creating copies of the landscape examples. All helpful for creating pastel landscapes. Probably a good lesson or primer for artists painting landscapes. For me, I was looking for something more in depth and technical. Was it helpful?, Yes. Could it have been a bit more?, Yes.
First chapter covered some quick basics in using pastels. The remainder of the book gives some guidance with creating copies of the landscape examples. All helpful for creating pastel landscapes. Probably a good lesson or primer for artists painting landscapes. For me, I was looking for something more in depth and technical. Was it helpful?, Yes. Could it have been a bit more?, Yes.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews