The Purpose

I want to start off with the original purpose of this blog, which is creating art.  I don't know that I will always stick to topic but it is important to get started right.  Today I will talk about color, because that is what seems to bring most people to the world of soft pastel.  I had originally been working in graphite and colored pencil.  Graphite boils it all down to seeing the form.  The pencil point is quite specific and a bit time consuming.  But the effect is gentle because the black is not inky but really warm.  Colored pencil gives you more scope for the senses but once again is slow and steady.  Now pastel!  That color is so immediate and Wow!  I read about the structure of the medium, and there is science behind the intensity of the color.  The particles of pigment are linked together into a stick with a binder.  The substance and quantity used determines the hardness of the product.  Less binder, more velvety pastel.  This immediacy of pigment to paper is one reason why pastels appear so intense.  The other reason is the science of light.  Because the particles of pigment are crystalline form, light bounces off the tiny facets and reflects back to the viewer.  Paint pigments can't do this because the particles are floating in a medium and can't pick up the light in the same fashion as pastel.  So there you are.  If this didn't bore you maybe you will come visit again.  But I had to share what makes pastel so addicting.  It's color, color, color!