Chalk Pastel Techniques

Part of being an artist (and you are an artist!) is continuing to practice and learn. Today we share some chalk pastel techniques that we think are creative fun at its best!

One of Nana’s latest chalk pastel paintings from her time in chalk pastel lessons.

Remember that you are an artist and pick one of the below techniques that looks the most fun to you!

Chalk Pastel Techniques

Painterly Effect – Now just go ahead and rub your hands with glee! Here is your chance to really be messy with permission! Painting with pastels is such fun; you are painting with pure paint pigment…and a little goes a long, long way! A mug of hot chocolate video tutorial!

Fistin’ – What is fistin’? Some of you may think that I have dug deep into my Southern vernacular, but this is a term that I have coined in teaching pastel art. This is a tornado video tutorial too!

How to Make Clouds and Sky in Chalk Pastels – Clouds are wonderful to paint! They can be big and heavy with dark rain or snow, they can shimmer at night with moonlight, they can reflect the glorious colors of a setting or rising sun, they can be lacy or even have what are called “mare’s tails” whipping across the sky! Video tutorial.

Skumbling – “Skumble” is a funny word. It is a made-up word for the way an artist can add texture to a picture. In our video we share how we turned our brown pastel on its side and very lightly and carefully brushed it across the sand color to show the grainy texture of the sandy beach. Video tutorial.

Art in One Minute or Less – this is not really a technique but a fun challenge. See if you can paint an apple or a pumpkin in chalk pastels in less than a minute with our video tutorials! GREAT for short attention spans – and for finding out how fun and easy it is to create with chalk pastels.