Pastels are fun to paint with, and can be used in a variety of ways. There is no right way to use pastels, and like so many things with painting, it boils down to what you enjoy doing. The most important thing to remember is there are hard—semi-soft—and soft pastels. And, each one will of course give you a different result.
 For best results, use your entire arm and not just your wrist in your strokes.
Using the side of the pastel can help you to quickly create large blocks of color. If you break a stick of pastel in half, it’ll give you optimal results with this method. And, the great thing about pastels is even the smallest fragment can be used.
Painting with pastels is usually done via the dry method. You should begin by sketching your subject with the black, and then work into the subject with the others pastels. You can also use your fingers to create intermediate tones, and you can also use a tissue to spread and mix pastels. Painting begins with the introduction of brush and water. The wet brush can act just like watercolor, and blends and moves the pastel power around. This technique will take some time getting used to. Don’t wet the brush too much until you’ve become accustomed to the way water and pastel work together. Before you venture out to buy some pastels, let’s learn a bit more about them. There are hundreds of different colors and tints that you can choose from. The best bet is decide what subjects you intend to paint,and then buy a small selection of suitable colors. You can add on to your collection as the need arises. Some manufacturers will offer boxed sets with a full range of colors suitable for the portrait and landscape paintings you plan to tackle.
Pastel paper is made specifically for pastels. There will be some with random textures, while others will have repeated lines. Pastel paper with a colored background helps create unity in a pastel painting. You’ll also find pastel papers with parts left unexposed. You can choose from black and white, to earth colors, to primary colors. Pastel boards are more textured than pastel paper, and this allows you to apply colors more heavily. Gesso or acrylic paint can be used to prime pastel paper to color it. You’ll want to avoid against smudging, and the recommended agent to use is fixative. Fixative is a resin dissolved in spirits. When applied, the spirits evaporate leaving the resin to hold the pastel pigment in place. The quickest and easiest way to get hold of a good selection of pastel colors to buy a ready made set. The set will range in size from six—to large wooded boxes covering a full range of colors. If you’re starting out, it’s not a bad idea to buy a smaller set just to get a feel for working with pastels. Also, you try both hard and soft pastels just to become familiar with the difference. A serious set will house between 30 and 40 pastels, and if you already know the theme of your landscape or portrait, you can narrow down your choices by buying a targeted pastel selection. This should be enough information to get you started on your way. Keep in mind that it's going to be a discovery process, and the more fun you can make it, the more enjoyment you'll get out of it. Everyone has a different talent, and you should approach the adventure with an completely open mind. Remember, at this stage, you're discovering your talents. So remember not to be too hard on yourself. Great works of art happen because someone has taken the time to learn their craft. And, this holds true in any endeavor in life.
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