Drawing with Pastels

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

The Burano Rower John Hulsey

For those of us who love to draw and also love color, the natural choice is pastel. I began painting outdoors in pastel in the 1980s, when we were living in Garrison, New York, on the Hudson River. Winters are often long, cold and snowy in the Hudson Valley, and I needed a medium insensitive to cold that could be portable as well. I made my first plein air pastel paintings with a small set of 48 colors and quickly realized that I needed more—many more, to express what I wanted. Now, I have more than I need for any one picture so the daily job is to pare down to just what is necessary.

One doesn’t need 500 colors to paint a plein air pastel, but having the right ones for the job can make all the difference. I try to select colors which I will find in a given location based on my observations there and the season I’m working in. For example, a fall season painting in Vermont will requir…