A FEW IMPORTANT POINTS

» I will often use my fingers to push the Panpastel into the surface of the paper, particularly on the background, as sometimes the tools used can leave marks on the surface or might not go far enough into the paper and may fall on other areas.

» Since I mostly work on dark gray Pastelmat, I noticed that it was harder to cover the background color (light blue) as it was quite a bit lighter, and the colors I applied were quite a bit darker than the value of the paper. You can end up with a similar problem using anthracite Pastelmat paper. The lights can be harder to achieve; that’s why I tend to go for dark gray.

» I rarely use white Panpastel straight onto my painting or even to mix tints with other colors. I find it too harsh so I’ll tend to use raw umber tint or neutral gray tint.

» You won’t always find the exact color to match your reference photo, so instead try matching as close as possible, but make sure the value is the same.

» Not everybody wants to work on the scale I do, as it does take weeks to complete, especially as I mostly use pastel pencil over the initial Panpastel application. Why do I mostly use pencils? Because I love the control I get with the pencils and feel sticks are a little more clumsy when trying to do the fur.

» When working from photos it’s up to you to decide how much information you will put into the piece. This is the same with the background—if you decide to change the background color it’s important to make sure the color reflected on the animal reflects this.

» When I think I’m finished I normally attach my painting to my easel and view it regularly to see if there is anything I’d like to alter. Normally there isn’t anything too big, just some tweaks.

» I don’t work from my own photos, I purchase them from sites like Wildlife Reference Photos, download them from Unsplash or other free photo references or seek permission from professional photographers.