An Excellent Reason to Blend a Pastel Painting

'Walk with Me'              9x12             pastel          ©Karen Margulis
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Do you need a good reason to blend your pastels? If you are like me and have been taught to never blend you might like to know there are times when blending is a good thing! This week I have been experimenting with blending in my landscapes. I am trying for less fussy detail and more suggestion.

I blended every layer of this painting. I was left with a very soft almost out of focus painting. It was working and I enjoyed the soft feeling. But something was missing. I needed some clarity and the best place for the clarity would be my focal area. I wanted the viewer to travel down my dirt path so I decided to add the detail and clarity on the path.

I used a soft light value pastel and pressed very hard. In fact so hard that I broke the pastel! But the effect was perfect. The chunky marks on the path now contrasted nicely with the smoother pastel application in the rest of the landscape.

Contrast attracts your eye! Having soft blended areas next to thicker pastel marks creates contrast and becomes a magnet for the viewer's eye. Blending does have a purpose in a pastel painting!

Using pipe insulation to blend the first layer

The out of focus block in