Illuminated pastel sticks
Think of the
wall of a house painted one color – flat.
Now imagine the
sky just after sunset. You can see the colors in the air – there's a
sense of space.
We can get this
sense of space by using illuminated colors.
Here is how:
1.
Pick out two colors of the same value. For those who want an
example, I used Terry Ludwig's dark green G520 and dark red R170X. This
made a stunning, glowing shadow color.
2.
Crush each color separately into pieces like small cracked pepper. Do not
turn it all into powder or leave in pieces larger than a grain of
quinoa. I put the stick in a fold of paper and roll a rolling pin
over it. Open the paper and rearrange the pieces in a thin flat layer to
expose the remaining larger pieces to further crushing. Fold paper and roll
again until stick is crushed evenly. Repeat same operation with second
color in a separate paper.
3.
When both are crushed evenly combine them by gently stirring them together on a
pile of 3 or more paper towels. Spray with water in a mist, gently
folding the particles over and over inside the towels until all particles are
wet – not soaking.
4.
Bring the paper towel over the moist particles and push them together,
including all the bits stuck to the paper towel. Do not knead the colors
into a lump. To succeed with illuminated colors, the colors of the
particles must remain distinct. Firmly press them
together.
5.
Form into a stubby stick, 3/4" in diameter. Be careful there
are no wrinkles, cracks or spaces in the stick. The nature of these
sticks is weaker than regular pastels, they cannot be made too thin or they
will break when you use them.
6.
Set the stick aside to dry. If you like to use a dehydrator let them sit
for 24 hours first. The particles need time for the binding agents to interact
with each other while still wet to form new bonds. They are dry when no
longer cool to the touch, like laundry.
The procedure is
simple, but choosing exactly the right color is very tricky. It took me
10 years to suddenly realize the power of my illuminated colors when correctly
matched. Certain combinations fall flat and others are fabulous.
Stay tuned here for
some recipes for specific illuminated sticks that will amaze your eyes.
If you have
colors in your studio that were disappointing and you haven’t been using them,
post the brand and color number on my facebook and I’ll do my best to make you
a custom recipe!
Coming soon:
Making your own
set of Illuminated colors.
Learning about
values
Recipes with 3
or 4 colors
