Visit Hawaii with PanPastels and UART Sanded Paper

Visiting Hawaii with Pan Pastels and UART sanded paper

In January I finally got to know PanPastels at the Creativeworld Fair in Frankfurt. That weekend, I did some demos for UART Sanded Pastel Papers at their booth. During a break, I discovered the Pan Pastel booth at the Paperworld Fair which took place at the same time in the same hall. I had often seen their colours, but only got the chance to test them during the fair. After seeing a short demo I was very surprised; I really wanted to try them out for myself!

corrected with an eraser. For the fine details I used Faber Castell Polychromos hard pastel sticks. In a short amount of time I had created a complete painting!

My trip to Hawaii is unforgettable; I chose my motif from among more than 2600 photos. The seven pools on the slopes of the Haleakala in the Oheo Gulch are fed by waterfalls and enchant every time.

I had a sample set of 10 Pan Pastel colours which I used on UART Sanded paper 500 grade; I was really curious to see how they could be used.

With the big oval sponge I prepared the sky with a few swipes of Phtalo Blue and lightened it with Titan White. Usually I use my palms and finger tips to spread soft pastels over a big surface. With PanPastels I didn’t need to do that and my hands stayed clean!

I indicated the bridge in black with the flat edge of sponge 61022 before I lost it in the Hawaiian jungle. No preliminary sketch! Bravely, I dabbed in the trees with Phtalo Green using the small oval applicator and added the highlights in fresh Hansa Yellow. In between, I wiped off the excess colours on a clean paper towel so I didn’t need to change the applicator. For the rocks I used sponge 61024 and worked this area with Black, Magenta and Magenta Pint.

I was very surprised how quick and easy it was to create the painting. I had avoided painting the waterfalls until now because I didn’t want to muddy the paper but that turned out to be unnecessary. With PanPastels there was no pastel dust! Even after painting several layers, the colours stayed firmly adhered to the sanded paper.

I painted the darker areas of the trees with Chrome Oxide Green and Phtalo Blue. I added small accents for the red bushes with Permanent Red and Hansa Yellow which I lightly mixed.

I painted the falling water with Titan White and Phtalo Blue and marked the light reflexes on the surface of the pool with a small applicator. Small mistakes were easily corrected with an eraser. For the fine details I used Faber Castell Polychromos hard pastel sticks. In a short amount of time I had created a complete painting!

Conclusion:

You can create a wonderful painting with just a few Pan Pastels. Your hands stay clean and your work space free of pastel dust. Due to their creamy consistency there is no loss of colours as with the breakable traditional soft pastel sticks. You can easily wash out he sponges with water and soap. You will be perfectly prepared for your next travel with a minimal palette of only 10 colours and the sanded pastel paper from UART.

The painting doesn’t need a fixative and can be immediately framed. The colours are lightfast and the paper is acid free and ph-neutral. In the future I will use PanPastel colors in my studio for underpainting and big surfaces and for shadow areas as well. Painting is fast and easy and therefore a lot of fun!

Many thanks to PanPastel for the sample set; together with the UART Premium Sanded Pastel Paper it makes for a perfect combination!