http://www.painters-online.co.uk artistMay 2020 37PRACTICAL
more pastels and come with some nifty
design features. These, however, tend to
be more cumbersome, more expensive
and, as I have found, can hold you up
when going through airport security.Choice of paper
The paper choice and size for working
en plein air with pastels is probably as
important in many ways as the colour
selection and there are plenty of great
brands to choose from. My personal
choice is Sennelier La Carte pastel
card. It has been my primary surface
since I started with pastels and has a
wonderfully toothy surface that will
hold multiple layers of pastel and hasa lovely plush feel. It comes in a range
of lightfast colours in single sheets or
in gummed pads, in various sizes. I
have found that the best size for paper,
especially when travelling abroad,
is about 91/2 3 121/2in; I take the paper
loose, not in a pad form, and cut two
pieces of foam core (slightly bigger)
and sandwich the pastel card between
them, secured with super thick rubber
bands. This arrangement also doubles
up as a drawing board for my lap when I
work sitting down. I do also take a super
light tripod but generally my ‘lap-easel’
suits me well. The heavy rubber bands
hold the card in position and pre-cut
sheets of glassine paper are used toprotect the finished pieces. Expect
trouble with the glassine in the lightest
of breezes as nothing seems to catch
the wind more and I have lost many a
sheet down the cliff edge!Selecting colours
For a recent painting trip to the
mountains of southern Spain I
anticipated the usual palette of ochres
and dusty reds, oranges and olive
greens and adjusted the set of 80 by
removing some of the brighter greens
and adding a few extra darks and
neutrals. However when I arrived I
found there had been some unusually
late summer rain and the landscapep Near Santruario de Santa, Spain, pastel, 193/4 3 193/4in (50 3 50cm)TA05p36_38_Richard .inddTA05p36_38_Richard .indd 37 37 02/03/2020 07:0902/03/2020 07:09