Overview

With pastel books being thin on the ground, any new addition is welcome and this is a rather excellent look at what the medium can do as well as a well thought-out manual on how to do it. Jenny devotes roughly the first third of the book to materials and techniques and she includes some handy hints on using colour shapers to blend small areas, as well as how pastel pencils can help you fill in detail. She also has valuable advice on composition, perspective and recession. All of this makes this section of the book above the average application-methods tutorial and shows that Jenny is aware of the creative as well as the technical aspects of her subject. To find this where the series is avowedly on the technical side is a positive plus and is an indicator of what's to come. The remainder of the book is devoted, as is usual, to five well-detailed step-by-step demonstrations covering landscapes, waterscapes, flowers (in this case irises) and mountains. This is a good range of subjects and makes sure the book's appeal isn't limited (unless you were looking for portraits and figures, of course). There are also further example paintings at the end of each section so that the scope goes beyond the specific subject that's been demonstrated. All of this makes for a well-balanced book that works within the premise of the series but expands into a much more complete painting manual as well. However, there is a tiny little butA" creeping in here and it has to do, not with the areas that are Jenny's strengths - choice and use of colour, composition, perspective and all that - but with her handling of shapes. In particular, her handling of hills and mountains, which have rather the appearance of slabs and blocks and rather oddly-shaped peaks. It's not terminal and I do want to be careful not to damn the book with a niggle, because the rest of it really is very good, but it's something you can't help noticing and also something you're going to have to work round for yourself. All-in-all, I'd still recommend this to any pastellist, but be forewarned of the potential problem so that it doesn't spoil the book for you.-Artbookreview.net Hello Jenny, Just received your book painting with pastels,it is the best instruction book I have bought,if I can't paint after using it I never will. Many Thanks and best wishes.-Denis Briggs, Customer A very timely book to arrive as I've just been admiring a fellow artists beautiful pastel portraits and thought maybe i'd get mine out as its been some time since I used pastels. Jenny's book is packed with information on soft pastels and her enthusiasm for the medium shines through. I noticed she uses Unison pastels - after a tip from another pastel artist when I was struggling to do anything with the ones I had I tried these and they are absolutely perfect for blending. Its clear Jenny has a love for the countryside from her work and reading the introduction I noticed she is married to David Bellamy - well known for his realistic landscape paintings. As a lover of nature myself I love to see the countryside reproduced realistically rather than the "daubings" some artists seem to feel are sufficient for trees and flowers and Jenny does this superbly. Jenny tells us about the difference between types of pastel and what they are best suited to - its something I learned by trial and error - lots of error and I wish I'd had such a helpful book when I began. She covers different types of surfaces to use and other materials - fixative, blenders, brushes, palette knives. My box of pastels contains all sorts of things I've found around the house and garden and used. It was god to read jenny's advice on the best way to store pastels to keep the colours fresh and discover that I have it right even though I store colours together just because I'm a bit anal about having them mixed ( a blue put in with yellows will really irritate me...)and love to see the colours range in the box in their individual compartments. Having explained about the materials and how best to apply them jenny shows us how she uses her sketch book - something I always mean to do but am very lax at :o( I especially enjoyed the section on working from photographs. Not everyone is able to get out and work from locations and the internet had lots of sites where people post photos for artist to use copyright free - never just copy another persons work without permission. The five demonstration subjects are very easy to follow and accompanied by lots of very clear illustrations. The book also has lots of other beautiful illustrations of landscapes that she has visited and she shows sketches from her books and how she uses them as references to make the finished paintings. A very inspirational book for anyone interested in trying out pastel painting.-JeannieZelos.com Jenny explains that pastel is the perfect medium with which to start painting: "Pastel, being such an expressive and immediate medium, allows us to paint quickly, with enthusiasm and vigour." Following an introduction to the materials needed, including hard and soft pastels as well as pastel pencils, Jenny describes how to set up a studio, or area where you are able to work, making sure you have everything nearby for the job in hand. Sections on colour theory and techniques follow, before Jenny moves on to show you how to gather painting material, working from photographs, planning your composition, etc. She then embarks on a series of step-by-step demonstrations, which include a barn and mountain, a coastal scene (in 66 steps!),harbour scene, flower painting and farm in a landscape. Each demonstration is followed by a gallery of Jenny's paintings. The stages are clear and easy to follow and there are plenty of tips and helpful suggestions along the way.-Leisure Painter I recently purchased your new book and just wanted to say how pleased I am with it. I've collected several step by step guides over the last couple of years, since I took up painting, but have never found them as clear, easy to follow and well explained as yours. I also like the fact that the photgraphs are consistant in colour from step to step, which is usually not the case. Your paintings are just gorgeous. Richard Rodrigues-Customer