Why I like pastels

I love painting nature, in particular landscapes and seascapes. I also find light fascinating which draws me to cityscapes and how the light changes on the surface of buildings as the day progresses.

My medium of choice is pastel for the following reasons:

The vibrancy of the colour

 Pastel is pure pigment with a small amount of binder, just enough to hold it in stick form.  When the pastel is not blended with the finger, the particles of pastel reflect light to an even greater degree.

The tactile nature of pastel

Being in a stick form, your in direct contact with the medium.  While some don't like getting their hands dirty, there are greater rewards being in direct contact with the medium which show through in your work.

Immediacy 

Pastel can be applied quite quickly covering large areas in a short time.  Mixing on the paper and not on the palette is another way we get instant impressions of what our artwork is going to look like.

My final reason I love pastel is that it's quite forgiving.  Mistakes can be erased and covered quite easily.