Have you ever found yourself staring at a beautiful flower, wanting to capture its essence on paper but not knowing where to start? Creating quick sketches of flowers with pastels might just be the solution you need. Beyond the stunning effects you can make with pastels, this technique offers surprising benefits for artists looking to improve their skills and gather resources for mixed media art.
This article will explore who would benefit from using pastels and the many advantages of incorporating quick flower sketches into your artistic practice. So reach for those pastels and prepare to be inspired!
Who would benefit from doing quick pastel sketches?
Artists who...
feel a bit self-conscious when sketching in public: pastels create vibrant art quickly!
like painting in a messy style
are wanting to fill up or embellish their sketchbooks
want to develop their nature-inspired painting style
are studying nature and collecting resource material for bigger works
Why are pastels are perfect for sketching flowers?
1. You will become better at capturing the essence of a flower in just a few quick strokes. This is where the real magic happens, and where you can begin to experiment with colour and mark-making to create truly unique pieces.
2. Pastels can help you develop your use of colour. They are an excellent medium for exploring colour due to their soft and blendable nature. As you sketch your subject, you will be reminded of how to mix and blend colours to achieve desired effects. As you experiment with different shades and tones, you’ll start to discover which colours work well together and which ones create a striking contrast.
3. Pastels capture vibrant colours with ease. Pastels are made up of pure powdered pigments mixed with a binder, allowing for rich, intense tones that can be blended easily.
4. Pastels dry instantly. This makes them a great choice for quick sketches.
5. You can quickly achieve a range of tones and hues. This can add depth and interest to your sketches.
6. They allow for experimentation and mistakes. You can easily layer colours, blend them together, and remove them with an eraser. This feature means that you can make adjustments to your sketch as you go along, without worrying about ruining the paper or starting over. When you make mistakes with pastels, you can learn from them and use the experience to improve your skills.
Added benefits of using pastels in general
Help in building your confidence as an artist. The act of sketching frequently allows for experimentation, mistakes, and ultimately, improvement. Through regular practice you can gain a better understanding of your own artistic style and develop a stronger voice. This newfound confidence can extend beyond quick sketches and help you tackle more complex pieces in the future.
Perfect medium to prepare for mixed media flower paintings. Pastels can be used for prep studies and also be part of the main thing! Pastel powders can be smudged and sprinkled which is perfect when building up layers in mixed media art.
Extra tip:
If you want to frame your vibrant floral sketches, spray fixative over the image to prevent the pastels smudging. Once your page it dry, tear it out of your sketchbook carefully. I use Winsor and Newton Artists Fixative and it holds the pastels nicely in place without being 'drippy'.
Pastel sketches for inspiration:
This was me purely playing around with different floral shapes in my sketchbook. I continued the sketch at home with bright pastels and a charcoal stick. I blended the background colours together to unite all the different floral shapes.
I love the swirls in this pastel sketch.
It reminds me that I love curving and flowing images and that I want to explore these further in my sketchbooks.
I love the colours in this one and the way the flowers emerge from the background: again, something to explore further in my sketchbook!
Final thoughts
By working with pastels, you'll find that you have a medium that's forgiving and easy to work with, allowing you to capture the essence of a flower in a quick sketch. By keeping a sketchbook and experimenting with different compositions, you'll soon see the benefits for yourself. So, surround yourself with nature and start sketching!