Get ready to get dirty. Chalk pastel paintings are a thrilling way to get hands on with art. The messy nature of the medium makes for a rewarding finished product. There are a variety of different tools, techniques, and pastels available to help you complete any painting you want. Consider enrolling in a class on chalk pastel painting today.
One of the biggest advantages of chalk pastels is that they offer unique ways to create effects, textures, and blending. Once students master these special skills, a wealth of artwork awaits them.
Sessions on chalk pastel painting will cover a wide variety of tips and techniques, including basic ways to use the actual medium. Expert teachers will instruct students on hatching and cross hatching, which is a useful method to create shape and depth. Students will also explore blending different colors and values of chalk pastels directly on their paintings instead of on a palette. There are a number of ways to do this, including coloring directly on top of another color, pressing chalk pastel dust into a color that has already been set, or by lightly marking over an existing shape.
Classes will also offer instruction on using a spray fixative to keep the dry chalk stuck to the paper. This is necessary after each painting is complete to ensure the pastel work doesn’t get smudged or otherwise removed from the paper.
More advanced sessions will look into new and different applications for chalk pastel painting, including adding water to the dry chalk pastels on paper to blend, smooth, and create unique effects. Students will also experiment with using different types of paper and other surfaces for their chalk pastel paintings.
