Shave pastels! Yes that's what I said and if you are looking for a twist on pastel painting then you should get ready to shave some pastel dust! If you been a regular blog reader then you have probably read my posts on the Dusting technique. It is actually an old technique of applying pastel to paper. I discovered it a few years ago and I have been having fun with it ever since.
What is Dusting? It is simply another way of applying pastel. Instead of making lines of thick marks, or dots and dashes, the pastel is shaved with a blade or edge of a palette knife and allowed to fall onto the paper (which needs to be flat) You can either build up a painting with many layers of this shaved dust or you can use the dust for special effects which I did for this wildflower painting.
Dusting can also be used to create snow or water foam and spray. While it is a useful technique it needs to be used with restraint. Too much and it looks like a gimmick. But just enough and used occasionally it creates a magical surprise.
Today's painting of Aspen trees in fall color needed some punch. It is hard to get yellow to pop! My painting was quite blah! Dusting to the rescue! I shaved some yellow pastel on the tree and the foliage came to life!
For more on the dusting technique you can watch this older video demo and also head over to my blog for a dusting article.
You can watch the older video here. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe!!!
https://youtu.be/Ig1rkNRvcU4
This painting also has some added texture due to the layer of clear gesso brushed onto an older failed painting. I thought the purples would make a good underpainting for my yellow trees.
If you are looking for a holiday gift consider the gift of original art! My Thankful 50% off sale ends on Monday! Visit my Etsy shop to see what I have available:
What a beautiful piece! I grew up in Colorado, so always miss the aspens this time of year.
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