‘Beauty Among Us’ 5×7 pastel ©Karen Margulis
I love reading older art magazines. They are filled with tips and inspiration. I buy them in lots on ebay and browse through them when I have some downtime. I came across an article in a 2011 issue of American Artist about artist Kathy Anderson and I want to share a nugget of wisdom from the article.
Kathy’s flower painting are just wonderful and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about her approach and background. One thing really stood out to me though. She studies with Richard Schmidt and Nancy Guzik and one of the things Nancy told her is to “Make every Inch Beautiful” in your painting.
I love this advice!
Hi Karen, You have inspired me to try pastels, but I was wondering what kind of paper you use. I went off to Dick Blick and paid an arm and a leg for some sanded pastel paper, but it is so rough it chews up my pastels at a furious rate (even the “hard” ones). What kind do you like?
Your advice is greatly appreciated.
Dottie
Hi Dottie,
Thank you for asking! I’m glad you were inspired to try pastels! I do use sanded paper but as you will discover some are rougher than others. I don’t know what you bought but my favorite is Uart in the 500 and 600 grits. I also like Wallis. The only sanded paper I find too rough for me is Unison. I am sure it is great for the right technique though. I recommend you purchase a pastel paper sampler pack onlin through Dakota pastels. That way you can try out the different choices!