Painting the Landscape in Pastel

by Handell, Albert; West, Anita Louise

• ISBN13: 9780823039128
• ISBN10: 0823039129
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-11-01
• Publisher: Watson-Guptill

Summary

Known for his use of luminous color, Albert Handell, whose lush landscapes light up these pages, provides lucid instructions to help first-time pastelists achieve impressive results as soon as they begin working with the medium. After reviewing pastel supplies, the author discusses landscape composition and how to establish large shapes first, abstract certain areas, develop a focal point, work from dark to light, and capture the illusion of reality through color. Stepped demonstrations isolate specific landscape aspects, showing how the pastelist depicts skies, trees, buildings, water, rocks, woods, snow, and light. "The authors systematically and thoroughly explain how to work with pastels. Discussions on choosing a subject and using photography as a reference tool provide helpful and inspiring advice to the beginner as does the detailed commentary on the types of pastels and papers available, the organization of a pastel palette, and such issues as storage, packing, and framing."Kliatt, November 2000

Author Biography

Albert Handell is a Master Pastelist of the Pastel Society of America, and was the third living artist to be inaugurated into the Pastel Hall of Fame. Since 1961, he has had over 30 one-man shows, and has received over 70 prizes and awards. Handell’s work is in numerous private, public, and museum collections. He is the author of several books on pastel and oil painting, including Oil Painting Workshop and Intuitive Light, and teaches several workshops annually. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.


Anita Louise West began painting at an early age and was awarded a scholarship to the Kansas City Art Institute in painting. Her work is represented in galleries throughout the U.S. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	7	(9)
Preface	9	(1)
Introduction	10	(3)
Pastel Painting en Plein Air	13	(6)
Advantages of a Dry Medium	14	(5)
Materials	19	(14)
Pastels	20	(4)
Types of Pastels	20	(1)
Indexing Your Pastels	20	(2)
Organizing the Pastel Palette	22	(2)
Paper	24	(4)
Paper Texture	24	(2)
Toned Paper	26	(1)
Toning Your Paper	26	(2)
Other Materials	28	(2)
Storage of Pastels	30	(1)
Traveling on Location	30	(1)
Framing	31	(2)
Color Lessons from Nature	33	(12)
Color Themes	34	(2)
Complementary Colors	36	(2)
Color as Value	38	(2)
Other Color Properties	40	(2)
Intensity	40	(1)
Temperature: Warm and Cool Colors	41	(1)
Other Uses of Color	42	(3)
Use of Neutrals	42	(1)
Weight	42	(1)
Working with a Limited Palette	43	(2)
Changing Light Conditions	45	(10)
Light Themes	46	(2)
Shadow vs. Light	46	(2)
From Dawn to Dusk	48	(2)
From Rain to Shine	50	(2)
Types of Light Conditions	52	(3)
Flat Light	52	(1)
Rim Light	52	(1)
Half Light	52	(3)
Getting There	55	(6)
Finding Your Picture	56	(5)
Viewfinders	56	(1)
Setting Up	56	(1)
Returning to a Location	57	(4)
Working with Photography	61	(6)
Using Photos as Reference	62	(5)
Black-and-White Prints	62	(1)
Color Slides	63	(4)
Discovering Your Subject	67	(12)
Sketching Your Subject	68	(2)
Close-up or Vista	70	(2)
Composing Your Picture	72	(4)
Patterns	74	(1)
Picture Planes	74	(2)
Developing the Center of Interest	76	(3)
Vignettes	76	(3)
Specific Techniques	79	(6)
Pastel Strokes	80	(2)
Linear Strokes	80	(1)
Side Strokes	80	(1)
Cross-Hatching	80	(2)
Painting Strategies	82	(3)
Massing In (Blocking In)	82	(1)
Tones, Tints, and Shades	82	(1)
Blending	83	(1)
Feathering	83	(1)
Lifting Up Pastel Color	83	(2)
Applying Pastel	85	(36)
Skies and Clouds	86	(6)
Colors of the Sky	86	(1)
The Sky on a Gray Day	86	(3)
Types of Clouds	89	(1)
Step by Step: Santa Fe Wild Flowers	90	(2)
Trees	92	(6)
Sky Holes	92	(4)
Step by Step: Windswept	96	(2)
Water	98	(8)
Still Water	98	(2)
Moving Water	100	(3)
The Ocean	103	(1)
Step by Step: Pacific Grove, CA	104	(2)
Rocks	106	(6)
Step by Step: Pecos River	110	(2)
Seasons	112	(6)
Autumn	112	(1)
Winter	112	(2)
Spring	114	(1)
Summer	114	(2)
Step by Step: Winter--Thaw	116	(2)
Architecture	118	(3)
Working Outdoors and Indoors	121	(6)
Completing a Pastel Indoors	122	(5)
Working from Small Pastels Finished on Location	124	(3)
Appendix	127	(1)
Index	128