Looking back - Soft pastel paintings of seashore

"Only when he no longer knows what he is doing does the painter do good things." 

Edgar Degas ( Soft pastel artist 1834 - 1917 )

I am a big fan of soft pastel works by Edgar Degas and always take out time to browse through his works. It is very inspiring.

Having an "Art blog" is like maintaining a digital record of all one's works. Sometimes I browse through my own works which I created in the past. I do it so as to observe, analyse and do a little study of the design, composition, colours and techniques that I used to create a particular work.  

I am posting below three of my favorite seascapes that I created using soft pastel medium. The top two were inspired by my visit to Langkawi island in Malaysia and the last one in the series has been inspired by the white sandy beaches of Florida.

Soft pastel paintings of Seascapes 

created in the past

Browsing through old works brings back some pleasant memories and it also motivates me to continue working with my art.   

For most of my soft pastel paintings I use Canson Mi Teintes paper which is acid free and comes in many different shades. I have posted earlier about "The papers I use for my soft pastel paintings" and you can click on the link to read the same.

Thank you for browsing through my works.

Edgar Degas - an inspiration

"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see." Edgar Degas

My first set of soft pastels  MUNGYO ( 24 pastels ) was gifted to me by my husband some years
back who always surprises me by getting some new art stationery that he comes across,
knowing my passion for art. Back then I had no idea what pastels were all about.

It's only when I surfed the net, I realised that soft pastels can be used to create beautiful vibrant paintings and then began my journey of soft pastel art.

As an artist, I am inspired by lot of pastel artists and Edgar Degas is one of them. Hence I decided to dedicate a post to him. It feels good to know that paintings done in soft pastels have survived ages and are as durable as any other medium.

Edgar Degas ( 1834 - 1917 ) was a French artist famous for his paintings, sculptures,prints and drawings. He also was a master of soft pastels and used a unique process of boiling them ( before application ) that render his works quite distinctive. Degas is especially identified with the subject of dance; more than half of his works depict dancers and many of these are rendered in pastels.The artist went a long way toward establishing pastels as a fine arts form.
Courtesy : http://www.whataboutart.org

Blue dancers by Edgar Degas

Bowing dancer by Edgar Degas

Soft pastels are created using pure pigments and a binder, hence their colours remain brilliant and last long. Moreover unlike oil paintings there is no worry about any kind of cracking or fading. Soft pastel paintings need to be framed under glass and it care has to be taken to keep it away from moisture and sunlight.

A site that I recently came across which has a whole lot of information on Edgar Degas and his works including his drawings and sculptures is Artsy.net and you are a big fan of soft pastels as a medium, you must browse through their collection. It will inspire you just as it has inspired me.

Thank you for browsing through my works.