How I got started with pastels

I was taking a belly dancing class back when I was living in Jacksonville, Florida. It was a lot of fun and I was very taken with how many different kinds of people were in the class. It reminded me of how much I loved drawing figures back when I'd been in college.

I asked the instructor if I could draw her students and she was very enthusiastic about the idea. So I began bringing in charcoal and newsprint to sketch with, arriving before class or staying after to draw.

Soon, I wanted to add color to my drawings and decided that pastel pencils would be a great way to do that. To motivate myself I set a goal of 100 belly dancer drawings. It was right around number 50 that I began a skelly dancer series, just to break things up a little.

I did finally finish all 100 belly dancers and also joined a local pastel society. From there my pastel journey really started to take off.

I loved the instant gratification of pastels, and how quickly a piece could come together. I liked that I didn't have to wait for anything to dry. I'm rather impatient as an artist. You know the saying, If you're going to fail, fail fast? That's me. Pastels were a great fit.

I've gone on to paint lots of different subjects using pastels, including still lifes, landscapes, portraits, figures, and skeletons. I'm always learning something new about my chosen medium. And I'll be forever grateful to my belly dancing instructor who gave me permission to paint what I loved.