Demonstration
Step 4
1 Using the sides of the pastel pencil points, add a mix of Smyrna blue 14, Prussian blue 58 and dark leaf green 62 into the distant hill. Using a fingertip, blend these colours together to create the distant, slightly hazy look. 2 The yellow rapeseed field is added using light lemon yellow 21. This colour is not blended to leave it slightly textured and bright. I also hinted at a couple of distant farm buildings using dots of white.
Step 5
Add the hedgerows and distant trees on the right using blue grey 78.
Step 6
Place the sheet of acid-free crystalline leafing paper (glassine) onto your picture so that you can rest your hand without smudging your previous work. You can now begin working on the trees, initially using the mid brown grey 81 overlaid with black 10 on the shadow side and titanium buff 75, yellow brown 29 and white for the highlights on the sunlit right side of the trunk.
Step 7
Add a little light green 60 to the far end of the foreground field then add a light base colour of black to the bushes and hedgerow. Try to angle the direction of the light green to create the illusion of a slight bank coming down from the base of the trees and bushes into the foreground field.
Step 8
1 To add the lovely spring green foliage, use two small pieces of green pastel, first cinnabar green 626.3 then permanent yellow green 633.5 for the highlight.
Rub each small pastel piece over a piece of scrap pastel paper to create a flat area on one side.
2 Lightly touch the flat area of the cinnabar green 626.3 onto the ends of the branches. The flat of the pastel sits on the top of the paper’s fine texture, allowing the previously blended sky colour, which is down in the little dips, to show through; this creates the foliage effect. 3 Apply the same technique over the top using the highlight colour, permanent yellow green 633.5 on the foliage on the right-hand sunlit side of the tree.
Step 9
Complete the foliage then add a base colour to the bushes below the nearer tree and extend the hedgerow at the far end of the foreground field, leaving a gateway into the picture. Try to fade the tone of this as it goes further away to give the feeling of recession.
Step 10
1 Bring the foreground field colour to the bottom of the picture using the light green pastel pencil.
2 Using the two pieces of pastel that were used to create the foliage, lightly drag a little permanent yellow green 633.5 over the far end of the field to create the illusion of buttercups then drag a little of the darker green 626.3 across the foreground. Darkening the bottom of the picture helps give a feeling of depth.
3 Using a scalpel blade or small craft knife, hold the pastel pencil just above the picture’s surface and scrape fragments of colour from the points onto the bushes beneath the trees.
Step 11
Using the same technique, add yellows and blues to create the illusion of primroses and bluebells. These fragments of pastel are not yet fixed to the picture’s surface.
Step 12
Carefully place your sheet of glassine onto your picture, ensuring it doesn’t slide sideways as it goes down. Now, holding the glassine in place with one hand, gently press the glassine over the whole picture to fix any loose fragments of colour.