Pastels Made Easy

by Anne Heywood

I was looking for inspiration to get back into my art and picked up this beautiful book at the local library. There is a lot of basic information on materials, how they work together and how to handle them, with exercises on different methods of creating texture and color blends with pastels. However, the author/artist never really takes us step by step through an entire painting. Although it is touted as an instruction book suitable for beginners, I felt it was really more a showcase of the artists' work, featuring over 200 images of her paintings. But that made it worth my time, since I enjoyed simply turning the pages and admiring the stunning artwork. I don't need lessons on how to hold a pastel stick, I needed to see some inspiring art and Pastels Made Easy did that for me.

Rating: 3/5                    144 pages, 2003