Supplies Needed for a Great Art Experience:

Start with a smile and an idea of something you want to create!

• Photograph you have taken of a wild animal, large enough to see details

• Soft pastels of varying colors and degree of softness, including pastel pencils

• Soft paintbrushes (preferably 1/4" and 1" brushes)

• Pastel paper/mat board/suede board (various colors, preferably 16"x20"), sketch pad (9"x12")

• Wear old clothes

• Rags/paper towels/moist wipes (work great)

• Kneaded eraser

• Unscented hair spray or fixative

• Mask to cover mouth and nose (dust from pastels)

• Non-latex type gloves

• Aluminum foil

PASTELS: One set of soft pastels includes pastel pencils, medium soft pastel sticks and soft pastel sticks. There are many brands of chalk pastels in varying degrees of softness. A set of 24 to 48 pastels would offer a good assortment. If you're just getting started, buy a set of half-sticks or split a set with another artist. This is a frugal way to get more colors at a more reasonable price. Start with a wide range of degrees of soft pastels, with pencils being the hardest to very soft pastels. Pastel pencils are helpful for sketching in the beginning of the piece and for final details. Prismacolor NuPastel pastels are a middle range of softness and one of my favorites. Softer pastels are better for laying on top for final applications.

PAPER/MAT BOARD/SUEDE BOARD/SKETCH PAD: You need a paper designed to hold the pastel. Buy a sketch tablet and pastel paper/board in the size you are comfortable working on. My personal preference is 16"x20" or larger and I keep a variety of paper/mat colors on hand. It is up to you what your comfort level is with size and colors you may use. I prefer using acid free suede board or Strathmore ® products. Start journaling in a small sketchpad and keep it with you. Then you would be able to sketch it when an idea pops into your brain or you see something you wish you could paint. It is good practice, too.

PAINT BRUSHES: Paintbrushes are for smoothing and blending the pastels. Sometimes if the applied chalk is too harsh or rigid, you can use a dry paintbrush to soften edges. It also can be used lift some unwanted loose chalk from your painting.

OLD CLOTHES AND BABY WIPES: These are to protect your clothing. Pastels are an almost pure form of color pigment and can be hard to remove from clothing. Be sure to wear old clothing or an apron of some sort. Baby wipes or some type of moist cloths are great for cleaning the chalk off of your hands.

KNEADED ERASER: A kneaded eraser is helpful in lifting up some of the chalk, especially in the beginning.

UNSCENTED HAIR SPRAY OR FIXATIVE: The sprays are for holding the pastel on the surface as the chalk can loosen over time. Flakes of the pastels can fall off the painting if moved around a lot. The spray can also offer a very think layer of textured surface for adding more pastel strokes. However, there are pros and cons for either the unscented hair spray or the fixative. The fixative holds real well, but causes the paper/matt to absorb the pastel more and fades the highlights. Thus, you may have to do it two or three times, i.e.–Highlight.–Spray.– Highlight.–Spray, etc. This can be frustrating, as you have to reapply the pastels over and over, and can lose the spontaneous application or freshness of the first strokes. The unscented hair spray tends to work just as well and does not fade the highlights as much as the fixative. In my 20 years of using pastels, I have not noticed yellowing from the fixative or hair spray.

FACE MASK AND NON-LATEX GLOVES: If you are allergic to air irritants or dust, you may want to get a small face mask. It is always good to use them for your protection.

ALUMINUM FOIL: This is used to create a catchall for the pastel dust that falls from the painting as you work. You can see how I use it in the "Mikula" leopard and "Restful Joy" giraffe sections.

Mikula

This magnificent Amur leopard, Mikula lives in the Lincoln Children's Zoo located in Lincoln, Nebraska. The few that exist in the wild are found in remote parts of the China/Russia border called the Amur River Valley, the mountains of Northeast China, Ussuri River Valley across the China-North Korea border, and the Korean Peninsula. (3.LCZ)

Step 1: I started with photos I have taken of Mikula. I took plenty of photos before I had enough to combine for a good composition. Mikula was hidden behind a study fence, some plexus glass and many vines.

Step 2: I use suede board for most of my paintings because it holds the pastel well and gives the paintings a soft texture. This is great for animal fur. Pastels are almost pure pigment and have little binding to hold it together. Thus, the colors can be soft or vibrant.

Set up your area with your supplies before starting. Spraying with a fixative or non-scented hair spray to hold the chalk is important.

Caution: Be careful, and do not over spray or get the pastels too wet. Spray lightly. Spray at least two feet from your painting. Practice on a scrap piece first. Spray in a ventilated space because it is important to protect your health.

Step 3: Now, we want to sketch the outlines of the leopard with light colored pastel pencils on suede board. Hold the pastel stick like a pencil. Use the tip of the pastel to draw the edges.

Step 4: Soft strokes were added over the light sketch. This begins to give the leopard noticeable shapes, such as shapes of the eyes, nose, mouth, and whole body. Notice the aluminum foil below the painting. It is folded to create a "catch" for the chalk dust that falls while painting.

Step 5: Layers of color are applied. The space behind and around the leopard is darkened with a dark brown such as the color burnt umber. Dark greens, grays and burgundy colors are applied blended to create the stones wall and ledge the leopard is reclining upon. Hold the pastel stick in as way that you can use the side of it to apply the chalk and cover more area. Lightly use your fingers or a paintbrush to blend the pastel, by pushing the colors together. I encourage you to try this on a scrap piece of paper or suede board. Lighter colors were added on top of the dark areas to create contrast and the likeness of fur. The texture of the fur is different from the stone/rock...