rks. Take your time as you work in your water—too many layers will result in a muddying of the colors!
Tip: If you want to paint water that looks like it’s full of plants, make sure you add some green to your water areas (I layered turquoise and gold strokes to get the green tones seen in this tutorial).
If you use fixative, after this stage is a good time to give it a light spray and let it dry completely (always follow precautions and directions given on the can of fixative). Remember that for safety reasons, you should never blow excess dust off of your pastel. Stand your board up and gently thump and shake it to release the pastel onto some paper or over the trash can.
Step 3. Create shadows and highlights
Define your lily pads by adding sharper lines to the edges and darkening the shadows underneath them. Darken your deepest shadows below the water’s surface, and use horizontal strokes to add various shadows and lights to other areas of water. Brighten any lights and work in vivid colors, varying the colors of the individual lily pads while still concentrating on the floating mass of lily pads as a whole.
Tip: Lay a pastel stick on its side and, varying your touch, use a gentle scraping motion to apply areas of pastel to simulate water floating over the shadows underneath the surface, or to depict the sky’s reflection on the water.
If needed, give your pastel one last light spray of fixative and let it dry again (keep it extremely light, or skip the fixative altogether if you’re not sure—too much fixative can quickly ruin a pastel painting).
Step 4. Apply final details
Use sharper lines to define the features of the lily pads, including open angles and stems. As you work, vary the angles and stems so that they do not follow a linear pattern.
Remember again to focus on the floating mass of lily pads as a whole, squinting if necessary to identify basic lights, shadows, and shapes if you need to.
If you’re including any other items such as flowers or animals, bring them into focus with more detail. Give your final piece a final touch of a few scrapes of pastel to show the water floating over the shadows underneath, and you’re all finished!
Once you’re done, don’t forget to sign your painting, then frame your pastel under glass so it’s ready to hang!
In each of my last four articles, I have looked at the most important tools in painting with watercolors—things like paper, paint, . . . read more
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