Drawing Sunflowers with Oil Pastels

In this pastel drawing lesson, we’ll draw an image of sunflowers with oil pastels. Here’s a look at the finished drawing…

A photo reference is used to complete the drawing. Here’s a look at the photo reference…

Oil Pastel Materials

Oil pastels are a unique drawing or painting medium. While oil pastels are called “pastels”, they are quite different from soft pastels. Oil pastels never dry and remain workable. While layering is important when applying oil pastels, they are not completely opaque. Some mixing will occur with colors and values already present on the surface. This differs from traditional soft pastels. Oil pastels, while applied dry, tend to resemble a painting created with thick impasto applications.

For these reasons, we must consider the mixing that will occur as subsequent applications are applied. Oil pastels are closely related to colored pencils in their behavior. Just like with colored pencils, we build up color and “mix” colors through layering.

In this lesson, two different brands of oil pastels are used. Sakura Cray Pas oil pastels are harder and less intense with pigmentation. These pastels are used earlier in the process and act as base colors that don’t use up too much of the tooth the paper. Sennelier oil pastels are softer and more rich with pigmentation. These oil pastels are layered over the base applications to create a more painterly look.

It is important to work on a textured surface when using pastels. A heavy tooth allows for more layers, which leads to more depth and interest in color. Canson Mi-Teintes pastel paper provides and excellent surface for layering oil pastels and is the paper used in this tutorial.

Stay Loose with Oil Pastels

Many beginning artists are easily distracted by details. We tend to focus on the detail first, rather than looking for shapes of color and value. Oil pastels are a bulky medium, making details difficult to create without some layers of material on the surface. Details emerge from the drawing as various colors and values are developed.

Instead of focusing on details, we should pay attention to the simple shapes of color and value that are observed. When these shapes are drawn with the correct values and colors, the details tend to be found, rather than spelled out. For this reason, oil pastel drawings go through stages. Some stages may be discouraging to artists new to oil pastels. It is essential to work through these stages and allow the drawing to develop as it should. This development may require many layers of the material before reaching the depth in color and variety needed for a successful drawing.

Creative Color in Landscape Drawing

In this pastel drawing lesson, we’ll draw a colorful landscape with pastels. We’ll limit the amount of time spent on this drawing to just one hour. Here’s a look at the finished drawing…

We’ll use a photo reference to complete the drawing. Here’s a look at the photo reference…

Pastel Materials for This Drawing

Soft pastels are used to complete the drawing. You can use any brand of pastels that you wish to complete the lesson. In this lesson, Rembrandt pastels are layered on PastelMat paper. Rembrandt pastels are high quality soft pastels with a broad variety of colors available. PastelMat paper features a heavy tooth that allows for many layers of pastel applications. Any textured paper with work for this drawing, however working on a toned surface will help to ensure a full range of value.

Making Colors Pop

This drawing features an exaggeration of observed colors. By slightly exaggerating observed colors, we can make our drawings and paintings more interesting and use color theory to create contrast, while preserving harmony.

In this drawing, a secondary color scheme is used to enhance the image. Secondary colors are orange, purple, and green. By limiting the piece to these colors, we create harmony. But due to these colors’ positions on the color wheel, we create contrast. It is the contrast that leads to the “pop” that we want in the finished drawing.

Simplifying Details

It is a misconception that all details must be included in an artwork. Details can be suggested. In this work, details are purposely simplified, placing more attention on the relationships of colors and values. It can be difficult to look past the details that you observe in a subject and instead focus on the shapes. One way to do this is to squint your eyes and observe your subject. By squinting, we remove the details and are left with only the values, colors, and shapes.

By focusing on the shapes that we see, we can create the illusion of form and light, without becoming overwhelmed with the details. This leads to an artwork that is more painterly and expressive. The colors become the “star” instead of the subject itself.

Drawing a Boat on the Water with Pastels

In this pastel drawing lesson, we’ll draw a boat on the water. This is a timed sketch and we’ll spend only about an hour. Here’s a look at the finished drawing…

We’ll use a photo reference to complete the drawing. Here’s a look at the photo reference…

Drawing Materials

In this lesson, we’ll use soft pastels by Rembrandt on PastelMat paper. Rembrandt pastels are a high quality soft pastel that layer and blend easily. PastelMat paper features a heavy tooth that allows for many layers of pastel applications. For this drawing, we’ll use the “Buttercup” color of the paper.

Painting the Sky

We want to create somewhat of an atmospheric feeling to the drawing, so we’re going to be spending quite a bit of time on the sky. Then we’ll move to the trees on the right, and then finally, we’ll address the boat on the water.

We’ll start with an application of yellow that is very close to a primary yellow. Then we’ll add a bit of a lighter orange. Over the top, we’ll go back to our primary yellow and work that material so that we create a gradation. We’ll also bring a bit of that yellow down into the water. We’re going to create lots of layers in the sky. Some mixing will occur with each color that we add.

Then, we’ll switch to a cooler yellow that is closer to a lemon yellow, and add this color close to where the sun is located within the picture plane. We’re also going to bring this color straight across and allow it to mix with the orange and primary yellow that we’ve already applied.

Drawing The Trees

Now that we’ve got some base applications for our sky, we’re going to go ahead and indicate the distant tree line and the trees on the right side of the picture plane.

We’ll do so with a raw umber which has a pretty dark value. It’s close to brown, but it’s more neutral than a typical brown. We’re concentrating only on shapes. After these intitial shapes are defined, we’ll go back over the top of our umber applications with the primary yellow. This will mix with the colors underneath and create more of a smoky atmospheric effect. We can use our finger to do some blending and some smudging. Just make sure that your finger is nice and clean. I like to keep a wet paper towel on hand to keep my fingers nice and clean for those situations where I need to do some blending with my finger.

Then it’s back to the lemon yellow. We’re going to bring that right over the top of the edge of the shape of trees that we’ve created on the right side of the picture plane. It’s important not to hurry this process. Even though this drawing is only an exercise for about an hour, we still want to take our time and be deliberate with our applications.

Now we’re going to go back to our umber, and we’re going to reestablish the tree line here, and since the tree line is closer to the viewer, we’re going to see more contrast in this area, but we still want to keep that smoky look. We want to create an impression of the trees instead of defining everything with details.

I switched over to a color that’s close to terracotta. This will create a little bit more variety. We can see that there are some trees with some leaves that are changing color, so the terra cotta will help communicate this. Then it’s back to the raw umber before switching back to a yellow to soften the edges of the trees. As we apply these colors, we can blend and smudge with our finger in between applications.

I’ll remind you that we don’t really need to think about details. We only want to think about the colors that we see, the values that we see, and the shapes of those colors and values.

With a darker yellow-green, we’ll establish some of the highlights. These are very faint highlights that exist primarily on the left side of the trees.

We’re going to add just a touch of a darker blue-green. We’re going to use this color quite a bit here in the lower part of the picture plane. We’re just establishing some of those cooler shadows that exist on the bottom portion of the trees. We’ll go ahead and use this color to establish the initial shape for the shadow that’s cast on the water, and then we’ll apply more of it in the trees themselves, mainly in the shadowed locations. Green is made by mixing blue and yellow, so in the shadowed areas, we’re going to add a little bit of blue, adding more interest to the color. Then over the top, we can add a bit more of the umber, darkening it while still being able to clearly see some of those blues.

Drawing the Water

We’ll go ahead and put some colors down in the water. We’re going to start here with a very, very light yellow. This is the same color that we used in the center of the sky. Since the sky is reflected in the water, we’ll use the same colors that we see in the sky with an exception of a couple of blues.

Even though our colors are very similar to what we see in the sky and the water, we can differentiate the sky from the water with our horizontal stroke-making. A few more highlights are added to the trees on the right using an even lighter green. Then it’s back to our dark blue-green, defining the cast shadow on the water. I’ll bring in just a bit of blue here to further differentiate the sky from the water.

We’ll refine the edge where the highlighted part of the water meets the shadowed part. We’re getting some good variety and color in the water, but there are some oranges that should be reflected in our water. A bit of orange is added, followed by a cooler blue. This blue is more like a phthalo blue. It leans a little bit more towards green. Then we’ll make some of the cast shadows and shadows underneath the trees a bit stronger with our very dark brown.

Hopefully, you can see why patience is important when working with pastels. Oftentimes, you need to add multiple layers to build up the color that you need.

We’ll continue to refine the edges of the trees just a bit and add a few open areas where some of the light is getting through.
We do see some branches that are extending up. To add the branches, I’m going to start with a brown. I use the edge of the pastel to create these lines. If you’re not comfortable with this, you can always use a pastel pencil.

I can also roll the edge to create some very light marks. Then, we’re going to give this a very light smudge to keep the atmospheric look that we’re after. For a bit of variety, I’ll switch over to a darker brown and apply this mostly to the area of the trunk. We’ll add a bit more yellow in between some of the branches and also some touches of orange as well. We’ll make our sky a little bit more interesting by pulling a bit more of the orange over to the center of the picture plane and also applying it in the reflection in the water.

Drawing the Boat on the Water

Our scene is starting to come together and it’s time to add the boat which is the main focal point. We’ll start with a very dark umber to frame out the contours of the boat. If you feel more comfortable using a pastel pencil for this, you’re more than welcome to do so. This boat features dark blues and dark reds. After I’ve framed out the basic shape, I’ll go back into the shadowed areas and add a bit of blue. Then we’ll darken the blue with our umber. We’ll use our very, very light yellow to start establishing some of the white shapes of the boat. (The reason I’m not using a pastel pencil here for this is because I want to preserve this looser impressionistic feeling in this particular drawing.)

A bit of gray is added for the cast shadow on the surface of the water before switching over to a bit of red to start adding some of the red elements on the boat. This includes the stripe that goes along the side. We can clean up that line with a bit more of the very light yellow. We can add shadows with the dark umber and then continue to adjust these colors and values as much as we wish. We’ll continue to refine the overall shape of the boat before taking that dark red or terracotta color to create the mast.

Using our dark brown, we’ll add a few more details like the windows on the side of the boat. Then it’s back to our darker red, refining the stripe along the side. A few more highlights are added with a very light yellow. Then it’s time to make the cast shadow in the water. We’ll use a warm gray for this initially.

A bit more warmth is added with a bit of yellow and a few more details are developed with the terracotta. We need to make the cast shadow underneath the boat stronger.

Boat Drawing with Pastels – Conclusion

At this point, I’ve spent about one hour on the drawing and I determine that it is complete. It’s time to remove the tape. Be careful and pull the tape away at a right angle to prevent tearing. Here’a look at the completed drawing…

Drawing a Landscape with Clouds

In this pastel drawing lesson, we’ll draw a landscape with clouds using pastels. This is a timed sketch and we’ll spend only about an hour. Here’s a look at the finished drawing…

We’ll use a photo reference to complete the drawing. Here’s a look at the photo reference…

Pastel Materials

For this drawing, we’ll use Rembrandt soft pastels on Pastelmat paper. We’ll work on a darker gray surface for contrast. This type of paper is a wonderful surface for working with pastels. It has a good amount of tooth, so you can layer to your heart’s content. It blends very easily as well.

Start with the Sky

We’ll start with a medium to darker blue. We’re going to create a gradation from the top edge of the picture plane down, past the horizon line. We’re going to create a base application using several different versions of blue and then we’ll layer the clouds over the top. After our first blue, we’re going to go with a different blue. This blue is a bit more true to a primary blue. The first blue is a little bit more of a blue-purple. The layering of these colors is going to put a bit more pastel into the tooth of the paper, but it’s also going to create more depth in the color as well.

We’re going to take a lighter blue and work our way from the bottom up. Then an even lighter blue underneath is added to create a gradation or a slow change in color and value from the top edge of the picture. Then we’ll bring in another blue to ease that transition. After these blues are added, we can blend the applications with a finger.

Drawing Clouds

Now we’re ready to start putting in some of the shapes of the clouds. I’m going to use a warmer gray initially just to “block in” the shapes of the clouds. Your clouds don’t have to be exactly the same as the reference. In fact, if you look at the blues I used in my sky, they’re quite different from the blues in the reference. I’m using not the tip of the pastel, but the side of the pastel to block in the shapes.

We’re going to add a little bit of a darker value to create shadows. This is a darker gray, but it leans a towards purple. We’re going to be incorporating some purples in our clouds. In this case, the light source is coming from the left and above the clouds. As a result, the shapes of shadow are going to exist mainly on the underside of the clouds and on the right side of the clouds as well. We’re not worried about details right now. We’re only concerned about getting some colors and values in place.

We’ll continue layering colors, including a red-purple in areas. Our goal is create the illusion of form by creating contrast in values. At the same time, we’re adding depth and interest to the color by layering.

As we go over the top of some of the pastel applications, you’ll see that some mixing occurs. We’re starting to get some of that material to look a little bit softer and more blended. It might be helpful to look at the negative shapes in between the clouds to help you get the shapes in the right place, but allow yourself some freedom here. It doesn’t have to be at an exact copy or replica of the photo.

Then, it’s back to that darker gray that leans a towards purple. Layering is so important to create depth in color. Be patient during this process and allow your layers to do the work for you. We can refine the shapes as we go with these different versions of different colors and slowly, our clouds will start to take shape. You just have to be patient here.

We’re going to start putting in some of the highlights and now our clouds are going to start to gradually look more three-dimensional. Our light source is originating from the upper left. We’re going to see these highlights primarily on the top parts of the clouds and more dominantly so on the left side of the clouds.

As we start to add these bits of lighter value, some additional blending occurs and our drawing is actually starting to look more like a painting. Keep in mind that you can vary the intensity of the value by adjusting the amount of pressure that you place on the pastel. If you put more pressure on the pastel, the color is going to be stronger and more intense. You can put less pressure to create more of a slow change into the darker values around these highlights.

Drawing the Trees on the Horizon

Now let’s move on to the middle ground. I’m going to start with a very dark brown, establishing the shapes of the trees that overlap the horizon line. We need a bit of variety on the top edge where the tree shapes are different. Then we’re going to go back with a dark green initially to add a bit of color. We’ll leave open some of the areas where we see the brown. We’re just establishing contrast and variety in the color.

A bit of dark gray, followed by a touch of blue is added for the shadows. I avoid using black, since it is so strong and may possibly make the drawing look flat. We make the color green by combining yellow and blue. Yellow is the lighter of the two colors, but it’s also the warmer of the two. So if we use blue for the shadowed areas, it makes more sense for something that’s green like a tree.

For the highlights, we use a lighter yellow-green, considering the light source. Since the light source is coming from the left side, the left portions of these trees are going to be highlighted. I’m also using a little bit of burnt ochre here and there to add a little bit more variety to the color. If you look closely at the tree line, you can see some of those oranges popping through.

With a bit of distance from the piece, you can see how this illusion is starting to make sense. We can see the clouds and we can see them overlapped by the line of trees. Now, in between some of the areas of the trees and also on the lower part of the edge of the trees, I’m using a much darker green here. This is a cooler green, but it is much darker than the greens that we’ve used so far.

I decided to just use the pastel sticks for the building, but pastel pencils are also an option. I’m going to start with the roof using a little bit of burnt ochre. Initially, we’ll use the dark brown to create a shadowed shape, followed by a very, very light yellow-green for the edge of the building. That front edge is picking up most of the light, so it’s slightly lighter in value. We will use a darker brown to create the shadow, and then we’ll go back over the top of it with that very light yellow green.

Drawing the Field in the Foreground

Now we’ll move on to the foreground. We’re going to allow the foreground to overlap the middle ground. I’m going to start with yellow ochre, defining the shape of the yellow parts of the field. Once the overall shape is defined, we’ll add a bit more of a bolder color. This is still somewhat of a yellow ochre, it’s just more saturated. Then stepping up the saturation scale even further, we’re going to go with a yellow that’s more like a primary yellow.

I’m using my directional strokes here to indicate the texture in the field. You could go in with a darker brown to make it more visible, but in this case, I’m going to insinuate the texture. We’ll add some light yellow-green in the background for some of that grass that’s off in the distance.

Then, we’ll go a bit darker. There is quite a bit of variety in the value and color in these green sections, so a slightly darker yellow-green and then an even lighter yellow-green to make some of the highlights stronger. With just three colors, we have quite a bit of variety in that green grassy section. Using a yellow-green, we’ll go ahead and define that small strip of grass on the left side of the picture plane. We’ll use a lighter version and a darker version to add variety.

Now, we’re going to go ahead and define the shapes of the trees in the foreground. We’re just concerned about the shape initially. We’ll go ahead and pull out some indication of the cast shadow on the field. Again, we’ll use a bit of dark blue on the shadowed sides of these trees. We know that these trees are green so we’re using blue in the shadowed section. Then we use that dark gray again to create some darker shadows before going back over the top of it all with a bit of yellow green.

A touch of burnt ochre is added as well. If you squint, you can see these bits of orange. Then with a bit more pressure, we will bump up the intensity of the highlights with the yellow-green.

Completing the Drawing of a Landscape with Clouds

We’ll continue to add more texture in the field and the foreground. I’m going to let some of the texture of the paper still show through here in the foreground just to get more variety in the value. Then we’ll use just a touch of cream to add the road around the grassy area in the foreground. Then, it’s time to peel back our tape because at this point I’ve spent around an hour on this pastel sketch.

Landscape Drawing with Pastels – Conclusion

While pastels are applied dry, making them a drawing medium, the process and the end result is more like painting. For this reason, we must think and work as a painter. Instead of lines, we should think in terms of shapes of color and value. Since layering is integral to our success, we must be patient as well and let the drawing develop into a finished painting.