Pastel Painting Lessons & Techniques

Apple Tutorial

By Colin Bradley

This tutorial will show you how to draw an apple using pastel pencils in 6 easy steps.

Stage 1

101 is lightly applied to the whole of the apple surface and blended in with my finger. 101 is then re-applied to the stem and the two highlighted areas. 

Below is a table of the colours and their numbers used in this example:

101 - White	168 - Earth Green
104 - Light Yellow	174 - Chromium Green
184 - Dark Naples Ochre	118 - Scarlet Red
182 - Brown Ochre	225 - Dark Red
109 - Dark Chrome Yellow	176 - Van Dyck Brown

Stage 2

I lightly applied 104 to the whole apple except the stem and rubbed this in with my finger. I lightly applied 184 on top of 104 and rubbed in with my finger. I used 184 to strengthen the "well" and stem before finally applying 182 to the stem and "well".

Stage 3

This next stage introduces the greens, once again light applications are essential. I started with the 170 then used 168 to add strength. 174 was used on the edge and the "well" of the apple. These applications were all rubbed in with my finger, but from now on all the pastel is applied without rubbing. The last pencil used in this sequence was 109 orange.

First I used 118 to create the structure of the apple following the shape. Then I used a stronger application of 118 using tight circular movements this adds density and depth. I strengthened the stem and "well" using 176 and 175.

Stage 5

Stage 5

At this stage the deeper colours are introduced. I applied 225 on top of the 118 using the same circular movements to add depth and a dense rosy glow. For the brown background I first applied 182 rubbing this well in with my finger. 176 is applied on top of 182 and again rubbed in. For the green base below the apple (not the shadow area) I first applied 101, then 104 on top of 101 and finally 170 rubbing them all in with my finger. For the shadow area, I applied 170 then 168 then 174 rubbing each colour in with my finger. A little 175 was used on top of the green at the base of the apple. I treated the vertical green side panel in the same way except I didn’t use 101 and 104 as a base.

Stage 6

The finished apple looks good enough to eat doesn’t it?

Biography
	Colin Bradley became a professional artist in 1982 and opened his gallery in Broadstairs the same year. The gallery sold Colin's watercolours, pen and ink prints as well as other works by local artists. Colin is now considered to be the leading exponent of the pastel pencil medium in the UK and is in constant demand as a demonstrator and tutor, regularly running workshops, seminars and Master Classes around the country. Please visit his site to see his work and to learn about his great products and courses. Colin Bradley became a professional artist in 1982 and opened his gallery in Broadstairs the same year. The gallery sold Colin's watercolours, pen and ink prints as well as other works by local artists. Colin is now considered to be the leading exponent of the pastel pencil medium in the UK and is in constant demand as a demonstrator and tutor, regularly running workshops, seminars and Master Classes around the country. Please visit his site to see his work and to learn about his great products and courses.
E-Mail: colin@bradleygallery.co.uk Web Site: http://www.bradleygallery.co.uk/