In addition to soft pastels, artists like to use hard pastels for their special qualities.
The angular shape allows for a firm grip, essential for precise and careful work. With hard edges, we create thin lines, ideal for human body studies and portrait. We can also sharpen the sticks into a tip and create diverse line types with a sharp point.
During the actual drawing, it is practical to break the pastel into smaller pieces. We then use flat sides of the stick to cover large areas of paper. The exquisite variety of colours becomes fully apparent as soon as we apply more pressure. For the best result of the work, it is advisable to purchase a set with the highest number of shades. It contains beautiful warm and cold colours that light up every image when maximum pressure is applied.
Gioconda hard art pastels combine well with one another. Each shade can also be covered with a white stick to give it a refined velvet shade. They can also be combined with crayons and pencils of various hardnesses. The degree of pressure applied determines the character of the painting. With less pressure applied on the paper, we get finer, structured coloured areas. To create a more spatial modelling, the pastels can be spread using your fingers.
We can use pastels to paint fantastic themes, cubist still life, architecture or abstract compositions. We don't even have to be afraid to use coloured papers. The solid base unites the colour traces and gives the artwork a feeling of coherence.
We can also use them for combined techniques. It is not a problem to use them to draw into paintings created by watercolours, where their natural colours will stand out even more on dry surfaces. Pastels are also suitable for finishing pen-and-ink drawings. A basic pen-and-ink line drawing can always be enlivened by colouring the surfaces. This procedure is particularly useful in decorative compositions, in the colouring of graphic signs, and in mandala and stained glass designs.
Hard art pastels are also suitable for creating posters. Long sticks quickly cover large areas and complement them with the necessary text. The colour and sharpness of the lines will guarantee good readability and aesthetic perception of the final work. We can also use Gioconda as a suitable means to illustrate collages. With their expressive colourfulness they revive pictures from newspapers or magazines.
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