Anita Pounder celebrates World Migratory Bird Day by painting the swallow, with its distinctive red throat, white underbelly, and dark blue wings, using Unison Soft Pastels and Faber-Castell Pitt Pastel Pencils.
Pastels are sticks of ground pigment held together with a little binder. Because they’re almost pure pigment pastels produce intense colours that are largely unmatched in other media, making them a popular medium.
If this is your first time working with pastels you may be interested in this demonstration by Catherine Inglis, where she highlights the differences between hard and soft pastels.
A successful artwork begins before you’ve made a single mark on the page, in this video by Carol Kibble, Carol shares her insights and explains the available pastel papers.
A great place to start is our Inspiration for All page where you’ll find a host of free videos waiting for you – they’re a fantastic taster of the tutorials you’ll be able to watch part of your SAA membership.
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