How To Make Pastels

by Fee OShea | General, Tips

Save by making your own There’s no shortage of commercially available pastels. You only need to walk into an art supply store to see the vast range of colors, values, sizes and manufacturers. So why would you want to make your own? There are mainly two reasons. The...

Cheap Picture Frames

by Fee OShea | General, Tips

Is it worth putting your paintings into 
cheap picture frames? A comment on my Facebook page the other day said that the artist would love to get into pastel painting, but the cost of framing the painting was too high. Now I can relate to that 100%, as taking your...

Tips for Creative Inspiration

by Fee OShea | Tips

Getting yourself motivated to paint. There are times when you just don’t feel inspired at all, and it can be quite demoralising. Here are some tips for creative inspiration that I use, and they work for me. 1. Stand at the easel with a large surface, close your...

Choosing the Right Pastels for Painting

by Fee OShea | Tips

Choosing the right pastels can turn a blank canvas into a vibrant masterpiece. When painting with pastels, the journey begins long before the first stroke touches the paper. Selecting the right pastels is a crucial step that can significantly influence your artistic...

Framing Pastel Artwork

by Fee OShea | General, Tips

A dilemma facing pastellists is the framing of their pastel artwork.  One of the many attractions of soft pastels as a medium is that they age very well. They don’t crack or fade, so when treated well, they can look just as vibrant after decades or even...

How to Draw With Pastels

by Fee OShea | General, Tips

One of the attractions of working with pastels is that there’s nothing stopping you from just diving in. If you have paper and some pastel sticks, you can get started immediately without needing to learn any ‘correct’ way of doing things. However, once you’ve gotten...