On one of our bird watching trips to Lonavala I found some kids playing around, who on seeing my camera wanted a picture of theirs clicked. I always wonder about, and am also touched by the innocence of kids and sometimes grownups asking you to take their pictures, with your camera, which you have no way of sharing with them. It must have something to do with every humans secret aspiration for immortality!
Coming back to the picture – the kids managed to look so cute even in their 2 sizes too big hand-me-down clothes, I thought of sketching them. Don’t miss the little boy in the middle getting all tied up in knots, trying to hide behind his sisters, because I asked him to come forward. Even though I am unlikely to see these kids again and they possibly don’t even remember posing for my picture, I have spent hours studying every little bit of light and shadow on them while making their sketch and feel as if I know them as individuals.
Soft pastels as a medium are not the easiest things to work with, even though you may think otherwise, because they are so much like the crayons you have used as a child. Pastels are a combination of chalk, pigment and a binder, usually gum tragacanth, a substance derived from various plants. The ingredients are mixed and formed into round or rectangular sticks or blocks and dried. Pastel is available in three basic forms: hard pastel, soft pastel and pastel pencils. Pastels with the highest proportions of binder are hard and brittle; others are soft and more crumbly. Pastel pencils are thin rods of hard pastel encased in wood. Often one needs to mix hard and soft to get the desired effect but its better to work from hard pastel to soft as overlaying soft pastel is easy enough but the reverse does not work. Similarly one needs to work from light to dark as unlike paints like oil, acrylic etc trying to lighten colors using white later, gives a dull effect. Mixing colours to form new shades is also a difficult proposition so one needs to have a wide range of ready colours.
Pastel depends on the texture of the support to hold it in place – the rougher the texture , the more pastel can be applied. I have found hand made paper is best suited. However one can use any paper also fabric or sanded paper.
Pastel poses a definite health risk because the fine dust may easily be inhaled and can settle in the lungs. Take precautions like wearing some type of a mask and don’t blow the lose dust instead take your work outdoor and tap it lightly from the rear.
Article, photograph and sketch by Sumita for Sumita's sketches
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