Start with soft strokes and finish with bold accents

Pastel painting thrives on layers, texture, and movement. Unlike other mediums, pastels allow for delicate, feather-light applications and rich, bold expressions, making them an incredibly versatile choice for artists. One of the most effective techniques for achieving depth, contrast, and visual impact in a pastel painting is to start with soft strokes and finish with bold accents.

Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced artist looking to refine your technique, mastering this approach can add dimension and dynamism to your artwork.

Why Start with Soft Strokes?

Starting with soft strokes sets the foundation of your artwork, much like a composer begins with a gentle melody before building to a crescendo. This technique is crucial because it allows you to:

• Establish Composition and Shapes – Light, feathery strokes help block in your subject and determine the structure of your painting without committing to heavy details.
• Create a Gentle Background – Soft applications of pastel can blend effortlessly to form atmospheric effects, such as a dreamy sky, a misty landscape, or delicate floral petals.
• Preserve the Paper’s Texture – Overworking the surface too early with bold strokes can fill in the tooth of the paper, making it harder to layer colors later on.
• Allow for Adjustments – Starting softly gives you the flexibility to tweak proportions, erase mistakes, and refine your composition before locking in darker or more vibrant elements.

A great way to achieve soft strokes is by lightly skimming the pastel over the surface using the side of the stick rather than the tip. You can also blend with your fingers, a sponge, or a blending tool to smooth out transitions.

The Power of Bold Accents

Once the base layers are set, bold accents bring your painting to life. These strong, deliberate marks provide contrast, focus, and energy, ensuring that your artwork captures attention. Here’s why bold accents are essential:

• Define Edges and Details – Crisp, intense strokes help refine the focal points, adding realism and structure to your painting.
• Enhance Contrast – Darker and more saturated pastels create a striking contrast against the softer areas, making the highlights stand out.
• Guide the Viewer’s Eye – Bold strokes strategically placed in key areas naturally draw attention, leading the viewer’s gaze across the composition.
• Create Emotional Impact – Vibrant, confident marks add drama and intensity, enhancing the overall mood of the piece.

When applying bold accents, use highly pigmented colors, heavier pressure, and directional strokes to emphasize movement and expression. If you’re painting a portrait, for example, bold strokes can define the eyes and lips. In a landscape, the final strokes of sunlight on water or textured tree bark can add realism and depth.

Check out the wonderful lesson by the talented pastelist Andrea Gianchiglia on YouTube

Techniques to Try

Want to perfect this method? Here are a few techniques to incorporate into your pastel practice:

1. Layering from Light to Dark – Gradually build up color intensity, reserving the darkest shades for the final accents.
2. Feathering for Softness – Use gentle, flicking motions to create airy, diffused effects in the background.
3. Directional Strokes for Movement – Apply stronger, deliberate strokes in the final stage to enhance motion and energy.
4. Negative Space Highlights – Leave areas untouched or lightly dusted with pastel to make your bold strokes pop even more.

Final Thoughts

The beauty of pastel painting lies in its ability to blend softness with strength and subtlety with impact. By starting with soft strokes and finishing with bold accents, you can create artwork that feels dynamic and full of life. This technique is especially useful for adding depth, contrast, and emotional weight to your paintings, making them more engaging to the viewer.

So, the next time you pick up your pastels, remember:

lay down your foundation gently, build up your layers gradually, and finish with confident, bold marks.

Your artwork will thank you for it!

If you’re wanting step by step lessons head over to the Shop and view my books.

I’d appreciate you sharing this article: