Pastel Painting Atelier: Essential Lessons in Techniques, Practices, and Materials

by Ellen Eagle

Revel in the luminous and vibrant qualities of pastel with Ellen Eagle’s essential course in the history, techniques, and practices of the medium. In this comprehensive yet intimate guide, Eagle explores pastel’s rich but relatively unexamined past, reveals her own personal influences and approaches, and guides you toward the discovery and mastery of your own vision.   In Pastel Painting Atelier, you will

   • Advice on basic guidance on building, storing, and organizing a collection of pastels; choosing the right paper; and the importance of experimentation
   • Studio practice ideas for creating your ideal working environment and recipes for making your own pastels and supports
   • Study of the working lessons on proportion, gesture, composition, color, application, identifying and correcting problems, and recognizing when a work is finished
   • Meditation on cues for extrapolating the subtle details, presence, and temporal features of whatever you choose to paint
   • Step-by-step Eagle’s acute insights into her own works as they progress
  A magnificent selection of works by masters such as James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Rosalba Carriera, Mary Cassatt, and Eugene Delacroix augment this guide, as do works by contemporary artists including Harvey Dinnerstein, Elizabeth Mowry, and Daniel Massad.  Aimed at serious artists, this guide enlightens, instructs, and inspires readers to create brilliant and sensitive works in the historic medium of pastel.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Tatiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book that is a pleasure to read. Those who value the original motivation for and purpose of human artistic endeavors may particularly enjoy it. The author’s sharing of her creative process and chapters on the step-by-step building of a pastel painting are invaluable. Suggestions about materials, how to evaluate a work in progress and to correct mistakes are very helpful. The book illustrates vast expressive possibilities and quiet qualities of pastel, a medium that had its golden age more than two centuries ago but now is rather under-appreciated. It also highlights the art of looking at and truly seeing another person, without which portraiture is impossible. Those in search of bulleted supply lists and shortcuts to making fast and easy paintings may be disappointed. But if they slow down and read carefully through this book, they may discover something new to them. It can inspire an art student or a seasoned painter seeking to expand his or her repertoire and to explore a new medium. In any case, it may help cure a jaded eye.

[Ulee ☄︎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reads More like a Memoir

Hmm ... this felt more like a memoir about the author’s personal art journey and relationship with pastel than a instructional or reference book.

[Dora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the book is lacking on actual practical tips (how to best use/apply pastels, coordinate colors and so on), it is truly inspiring. I would say it is more for slightly advanced pastelists because Ellen talks more about composition, staying true to the subject of your work and the artist's perception and depiction of the subject. Of course, all of this is extremely useful and I would say necessary to move forward in one's creation, but I would recommend beginners start from slightly more practical (less poetic?) books on pastels.

[5t4n5 Dot Com · Rating 5 out of 5]

A super good book with Ellen taking us through everything she knows about art and her own approach to working on a artwork, from conception to completetion.

I would consider this book a must read for pastelists, but also i would think that a lot of artists of other mediums would also really enjoy it and get a few take-aways.

It's also full of some wonderful art works, both by Ellen and others that she has something to point out about.   I would rate it very highly as just a book to look at the pictures if that's also your thing, as there are a lot of wonderful pictures to browse.

[Joanna Cooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspired and Inspiring

I love Ellen Eagle's teaching approach. She suggests, inspires and completely opens up the reader's mind to the magnificent possibilities of every style and genre within the pastel medium, in this very complete instruction to pastel portraiture and beyond. Never prescriptive, Ellen introduces experienced and novice artists to every aspect, influence and tool to a medium for which her passion is evident in the beautiful works she produces.

[Erik Karlsson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to really rate this. There are definitely some really good parts in this book. Sadly the "process" part is a bit thin.

[Marjorie Elwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this provided a good overview of some aspects of pastel painting (what paper to choose, which pastels to use, how to organize your pastels, and how to transport your paintings), it was lacking in the arena of actually using the pastels. Still, it was a lovely book....

[mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A stunning talent

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I respect her language and descriptive analysis as much as her extreme talent as a pastelist.