I never came across Pastel as a child. So when I encountered it as an adult some years ago it was a revelation, a delight. Painting with Pastel is so immediate, it has all the instant impact of finger painting! The colours are so bright and clean, and the consistency so creamy and silky, very  sensuous. The grains of pure colour make each stroke of Pastel shimmer with life. There is something so PURE about the medium!
I was quite bowled over, and have spent the last 10 years exploring the medium, and still I feel I am only beginning to scratch the surface (literally) of what can be achieved with Pastel!

Pastel has had a very bad press.
When I started to read up about Pastel, I was surprised to discover that the Art establishment treats the medium as somehow second rate. It seems there is a "Class system" even in paint! Oil painting is considered a "serious" medium, but Pastel is only fit for biscuit tins!
But I was lucky, I didn't go to Art college, and was never taught those prejudices. I came to Pastel fresh, and trusted my first response. But that is in part why I am creating these pages - in  defence of a much maligned and misunderstood medium. The other reason, of course, is to communicate something of my love of Pastel, and my joy in using it.
So read on, and find out a little bit about Pastels, how they are made, what kinds there are, about the different surfaces you can paint on, and something about Degas, one of the greatest Pastellists ever, who made the most daring experiments with Pastel.

I hope you will enjoy exploring these pages, and find them both fun and informative. Most of all I hope that you might feel encouraged to visit your nearest Art Shop, walk in and buy a "starter pack" of a small selection of Pastels and a pad of Pastel Paper.

Go on! Surprise yourself, just like I did - and follow the jumping pastel stick!

on to something about the medium of Pastel