One Step at a time - A soft pastel painting

“ You can get anywhere if you simply go one step at a time.” Dave Ramsey

Sometime back I tried this soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes light grey toned paper. Every landscape scene has its own challenges. What I loved in this scene was the steps leading into the forest and the misty background. I used muted grey toned colors in the distance to create depth and used light strokes of pastels to create the branches and foliage.

I normally work with a mix of different brands of soft pastels, namely Kohinoor Toison Dor, Mungyo and Sennelier. Out of these if I have to recommend one brand which is great quality apart from being economical is Kohinoor Toison Dor.

Sennelier is extra soft and it easily blends into the paper and I love its quality, however it is far more expensive than other brands. I normally use it as a last layer to apply finishing touches to my painting.

One Step at a time 

A soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size 5” X 7”

I created a post regarding the use of different papers I use for my soft pastel paintings. CLICK HERE to view the same.

If you wish to see all my artworks in Gallery format, visit my INSTAGRAM site where I post my works on a regular basis. Thanks for visiting my blog and browsing through my artworks. 

Rocky Seashore - A soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

“The ocean stirs the heart, inspires the imagination and brings eternal joy to the soul.” Robert Wyland

Canson Mi Teintes  has been with me for a long number of years. It has been my favourite paper surface for most of my “Soft Pastel Paintings”.

When I like a paper a lot and it agrees with my kind of techniques, I make it a point to buy a good number of them for long term use. So during my initial years of pastel days, I went ahead and purchased quite a few of them in different shades. Then as I began my pastel journey, I realised that some dark toned shades went well for “Forest paintings” whereas “Seashore” subject did well on pastel toned papers.

Today after years of my working experience with pastels, I have realised that I love “Twilight” toned Canson MT much more than other colors. However, I am now left with one last sheet in this shade. My stock of other sheets too has diminished. So once the Covid Lockdown is over, I will be placing my order for my requirements. In the meantime I am trying to work small, ie 5” X 7”  or 6” X 8” sized works.

Today’s soft pastel painting is inspired by the beautiful rocky seashore at Bogmolo in Goa. I have used a mix of Mungyo, Sennelier Toison Dor and Sennelier soft pastels for the artwork.

Rocky Seashore

A soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper 

Size: 6” X 8”

I keep my pastels organised color wise in different trays. Being in touch with each other the pastels get coated with pastel dust ( Multiple shades ), hence it requires to be cleaned up on a regular basis. Therefore every once in a way, I take a break and clean up my pastels and reorganise them so that the original vibrant shade is clearly visible. CLICK HERE to view my post on the same.

Thank you for browsing through my artworks and do visit my INSTAGRAM feed to see my latest artworks. If you happen to like my works, I would appreciate if you share it with others. Thanks.

The Morning Calm - A soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

“Nature is the art of God.” Dante Alighieri

Goa has some beautiful beaches and Bogmolo beach is one of them. I happened to be there last December and captured the beach at different hours of the day using my mobile. The soft pastel painting that I am posting today is a morning view of the beach from the higher floor of our beach facing hotel. I loved the white buildings in the distant hills and the morning calm at the beach. At the beach, life is different. It is always a very relaxing experience. I look forward to being at the beach again.

Canson Mi Teintes is a great paper for pastel works and I have used it once again for my present seascape painting. As of pastel brands, I start my first layer using Mungyo pastels and then go on to use the Kohinoor Toison Dor and Sennelier in the subsequent layers. To create the small figures at the beach I have used pastel pencils.

“The Morning Calm”

A soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper 

Size: 5” X 7”

I plan to create few more paintings on “Bogmolo Beach series” soon using both water colour and pastel medium.

To know about the papers I have been using for my pastel artworks CLICK HERE. ( I have created a detailed post in the past )Thank you for browsing through my artworks and do visit my INSTAGRAM feed to see my latest artworks.

Deeper into the forest - A soft pastel painting

“In every walk with nature, one receives far more than one seeks.” John Muir

Of late, I have restarted working with my “Soft Pastel” medium. I began my journey with Mungyo pastels and then like any other artist, went on to add other brands like Kohinoor Toison Dor, and Sennelier. Now I use a mix of all these brands to complete a painting.

Today’s post is a complicated scene in my “Forest” series and I have used the textured side of Canson Mi Teintes paper for a change. In general I go with the smooth textured side. However I know of many artists who regularly use the textured side and I wanted to give it a try.

Deeper into the forest

A soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size : 5” X 7”

Selecting a subject for painting is a very personal decision. Some years back I was a lot into “Portrait drawing and sketching”, and then over a period of time as I traveled to different parts of the country, I was fascinated by the stunning beauty of nature. I felt the connection and decided to capture the beauty of nature on paper using pastels and water colour medium. In a way I feel my paintings are an “Ode to Nature”.

To know about the papers I have been using for my pastel artworks CLICK HERE. ( I have created a detailed post in the past )

Thank you for browsing through my artworks and do visit my INSTAGRAM feed to see my latest artworks.

Pastel landscape on Canson Mi Teintes Touch paper

" Choose only one master - Nature " Rembrandt

Today’s post is one of my recent landscape paintings on Canson Mi Teintes Touch paper ( Purchased from Art Lounge ). We were traveling on the coastal road of South Goa, when we suddenly came across this road turn which had some dense growth of ancient trees around. The scene also had the perfect light and contrast, and I also fell in love with the hanging tree roots.

I decided to capture this scene using soft pastel medium. I primarily use Mungyo and Kohinoor Toison Dor in the initial layers and give the final touches of Sennelier pastels. ( Purchased from Amazon.in ). Apart from using pastel chalks, I also use Derwent and Kohinoor soft pencils in the end to create thin branches, roots, grasses etc.

"On the coastal road in Goa"

Soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes Touch paper

Size 5" X 7"

To know more about the papers I have been using for my pastel artworks CLICK HERE. ( I have created a detailed post in the past )

Follow my latest works and techniques on INSTAGRAM and if you love my works and they inspire you, share them with your friends.

Cleaning and Organising my Soft Pastel Palette

"Drawing is not the same as form; it is a way of seeing form." Edgar Degas

Given below is an image of my "Soft Pastel Palette" with all my pastels put together in different boxes, grouped and segregated as per their hue. Earlier I would clean them up using a jar of old Rice/Semolina, but this time my pastels were not too messy, hence I used a partly moist cloth to roll up individual pastel on it. It worked and I could identify the exact colour of the pastel. CLICK HERE to see my earlier post on cleaning of pastels. 

Pastel Palette ( A mix of different brands )

Over a period of last six years I have purchased many different brands of pastels, experimenting and exploring, in an attempt to find the most suitable one. However I realized that each one them was good in its own way. Some are hard and I use them for initial blocking in of colours. Others are soft and work well to cover up the value masses. I have my favorites from each brand. The broken pastels as seen above in the pastel palette are from the following brands:

• Mungyo
• Gallery
• Koh-I-Noor
• Camlin

I also have one box of Sennelier pastels ( 24 Landscape colours ) which are very very soft and hence I use them for finishing touches as and when required.

How often do I have to clean my pastels? It is a question which has no definite answer. Sometimes I create a few works and then shift to my charcoal or water colour medium. In that case I keep my pastels well covered, so they remain clean for long. However if I am into pastels for long then after every few paintings, the pastels get jumbled up and dusty and then it becomes mandatory to clean it up or else it gets difficult to distinguish one colour from the other.

Now that my pastels are all organised, I plan to create a few forest paintings on Canson MT paper. I shall try to photograph them in different stages so that I can post the step by step technique that I use to create my soft pastel works.

Thank you for being a part of my art journey. I appreciate your support which means a lot to me. If you wish to see all my paintings together in gallery format, please visit my INSTAGRAM page.

Pastel painting on Fabriano Tiziano paper

"Sometimes you got to create what you want to be a part of." Geri Weitzman

The above quote speaks my heart. I stay in a crowded metro city in India and long to be amidst nature. Travelling takes me to places where nature is in its pristine form. Being in nature helps me relate to it better and I feel so connected with the surroundings.

The soft pastel painting as below is a scene that I came across while we were climbing uphill on the mountain slopes at Hee Bermiok in order to get a better view of the snow covered Kanchenjunga mountains. The dense greenery around kept the muddy pathway in shadows. It was a cold and breezy day and the I was attracted to the distant light in the composition. It seemed to add a little warmth in the atmosphere.

Distant light

A soft pastel painting on Fabriano Tiziano paper.

Size 6.5" X 8.5"

For most of my pastel works I use the Mungyo pastels in the beginning to block in the major shapes and later I use the Koh-I-Noor and Gallery pastels. During my final touch up I make use of my recently purchased Sennelier pastels.  

I have selected a black coloured Fabriano Tiziano paper for my present painting. The colours come out very vibrant on a dark coloured paper, however the disadvantage is that it gets difficult to cover up the black at areas where you want subtle shades. Too much smudging dulls the colours. Therefore for my next work I have decided to go with the mid tone paper. CLICK HERE , if you wish to know about the papers I use for my soft pastel paintings.

Thanks for visiting my blog and browsing through my artworks. My blog has crossed 75,000 page views and I am grateful to all the people who have been constantly supporting me in my art journey. It encourages and motivates me to continue painting and to share my ideas, thoughts and techniques with everyone.

Step by step - Soft pastel painting of a landscape.

"It doesn't matter how paint is put on, as long as something is said." Jackson pollock

I paint some part of nature, something that appeals to me. Being there made me happy so I feel that connection and through my paintings I want to convey that happiness and appreciation of the beauty of nature. The soft pastel painting as below is a simple scene that I came across while on a morning visit to Karnala Bird Sanctuary. 

In the shadows, flowing through the rocks, a little stream of water, the dappled sunlight, falling across at places, bringing in the sudden glow. It is such a delight when I come across some simple beautiful scenes in nature. It is a little world in itself. The quiet serene atmosphere relaxes you and you learn to appreciate and admire nature a little more. 

Capturing the morning light

Soft pastel painting on canson MT

Size 7" X 10"

Given below are the images of the steps involved in creating the painting. I follow a simple step by step technique to complete my artwork. 

Step 1. Creating the basic outline of the elements keeping in

mind the perspective

Step 2. Simplifying the shapes and adding colours

Step 3. Adding colours keeping in mind the values.

The details happen at the final stage just 

before completion.

Every painting that I create has its own challenges. In this particular work I had to create the tall grasses in different shades, also keeping in mind the highlight on some of them due to the sunlight filtering through the foliage on the left side. However these little challenges make me learn a little more than what I already know and I enjoy these little learning experiences. 

I have also got into charcoal study works lately and will post one of my recent works soon.

Thank you very much for browsing through my works. 

I am also posting my works on INSTAGRAM on a regular basis.

Soft Pastel Palette - Cleaning and organising it.

"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together." Vincent Van Gogh

My soft pastel needs cleaning and organising from time to time. With time it gathers dust and some pastel colours as it rubs against the neighboring pastels. This makes It difficult to identify each individual shade.

On earlier occasions I used rice in an old jar to shuffle the dusty pastels and they would come sparkling clean. Click here to watch my earlier post of 2014.This time I decided to use Semolina or finely ground wheat, to execute this process. To my surprise it worked pretty well. So after the clean up I organised them neatly into four different trays segregating the blues, greens, browns and the rest of the colours.

Posting few images below.

The Blues and the Greens
in two small cardboard boxes.

The very light shades and warm colours put together.
And the browns and violets put separately in another flat box.

The jar of Semolina in which I drop in the

Broken pastels for a clean up.

Now my soft pastels are finally cleaned up and are set up in four different boxes in a pretty much organised manner. Previous to this arrangement I was managing with ONE TRAY and later on it shifted to THREE TRAYS of pastels. The size of the palette keeps on increasing with time. I guess it happens with all the artists. 

The different brands of pastels that I have put together are MUNGYO, GALLERY, CAMLIN and KOH-I-NOOR TOISON DOR. By placing them together in a palette it is so much more convenient at my work place rather than opening up all the different boxes individually. This arrangement is working good for me, however I have plans to add a few more brands of pastels later in my collection.

What brands of pastels do you use for your artworks? Do share your views by writing down your comments. You can also view my works now on INSTAGRAM where I have started posting on a regular basis.

Thanks for browsing and all your support.

The sea waves washing ashore - A soft pastel study.

Soft pastel painting

The soft pastel painting as below has been inspired by all the beaches that I have visited in the past. I particularly chose to do this composition in order to have a better understanding of the anatomy of sea waves. When the waves are reach the shore, the transparency is so visible. The foam that forms on the surface of water has a unique wavy pattern and depending on the light source it casts shadows on the sand beneath. It's a great feeling to stand at the beach and watch these waves move back and forth in a constant rhythm.

The waves at the shore

Soft pastel painting on Canson Mi Teintes paper

Size 5"X 7"

For this particular painting I used a very limited set of colours as posted in the image below. The brand that I normally use are Mungyo and Kohinoor Toison Dor. I selected the pastels at the beginning itself and placed it on my temporary palette( An old ceramic plate). Making a choice of colours at the beginning saves a lot of time and confusion as I have a big collection of blues and greens.

Limited soft pastel palette

 as used for the above painting.

Art quotes inspire and motivate me continue painting.

Posting a beautiful quote- 

"I would rather die of passion than of boredom." Vincent Van Gogh

To visit my latest artworks you can browse through my Instagram feed.

Organising my Soft Pastel Palette

Since I am back to soft pastel works, I decided to organise my palette which has got into a mess lately. Over a period of time, the broken pieces get all mixed up and the colours cannot be distinguished clearly as the pastel dust catches on the surface of each other. The first thing that 

it requires urgently is a major "CLEAN UP". 

Given below are two images of my "Soft pastel palette arrangement" that I used earlier. Top

image shows the pastels in the "DUSTY" state. Second image shows the "Cleaned up" Palette.

Soft Pastel Palette

with broken pastels from MUNGYO, GALLERY

and KOH-I-NOOR.

After clean up.

To read about HOW I CLEAN THE SOFT PASTELS , CLICK HERE I have already posted about it earlier in detail.

After cleaning up the pastels by shaking it all up ( one set of colours at a time ) in a jar of rice, I decided to rearrange my pastels in three different cardboard boxes. I separated out the blues, greens and the rest of the colours. I took this decision as I use a lots of greens and blues in my landscapes and keeping them grouped together in two small cardboard boxes helps in better judgement and

I am able to find the appropriate colour more easily.

Therefore my new "Soft pastel palette" looks like the image below. Organizing my palette this way

is definitely helping me and whenever I am not painting, I keep it covered with a soft cloth to 

avoid dust collecting over it.

New Arrangement of Soft Pastel Palette.

This arrangement is proving to be more convenient. Sometimes I use a very limited set of colours.

In that case I select the required pastels and place it in a new container and it works like a 

"Limited Palette" for me. A limited palette painting helps avoid a lot of confusion as all the 

colours required are right in the front and there are less chances of overuse of colours which otherwise causes "MUDDY" effect.

A Limited Palette.

Therefore my new arrangement of pastels in three different boxes is working out fine right now.

However after a couple of artworks I know from my experience that the pastels may not go back to their original specified location. In a state of excitement and getting too involved with the painting,

the pastels go on the table and also get jumbled up with in the boxes too. Therefore I am prepared 

to clean it up every once in a while because when they are all in a dusty state, it puts you off and

you are forced to restart the "CLEAN UP". 

Ending this post with a beautiful quote by Martin Luther King Jr

"If you can't fly, then run,

 If you can't run, then walk,

 If you can't walk, then crawl,

 But whatever you do, 

You have to keep moving forward."

Soft Pastel Workshop

My plan was to continue doing portraits but it got interrupted as a Two days Soft Pastel workshop came up for a private group of four people.It was a welcome change as I got to know people who are passionate about art and I got the opportunity once again to share my knowledge and ideas with them. I basically introduced them to the pastel medium and demonstrated my technique by doing a few demonstrations on different subjects and guided them to pursue their passion.

They did four small pastel works on different subjects using Mungyo, Gallery and Kohinoor soft pastels. The papers used were Fabriano Elle erre, Fabriano Tiziano and Canson Mi Teintes.

Few Quick Demo's done by me as shown below.

Quick Soft pastel Demonstration works

done during a Soft Pastel workshop.

Two still life paintings - two different mediums

I recently created two still life paintings using two different mediums namely soft pastels and water colour.

1. The steel bowl with garlic placed at the side, done using Mungyo and KOH-I-NOOR soft pastels on black coloured rough textured chart paper.
2. Ripe pear with tiny brown patches on it, done on handmade paper using Camel artists quality water colour tubes.

Two still life paintings

Steel bowl with garlic at the side done in soft pastels

and 

A pear done in water colours.

Creating small works are more like doing "Study works". They help you get a better understanding about the form, shape, shadow etc.

Thanks for visiting my Blog and do visit my INSTAGRAM page to see my other artworks.