"Absolutely the most thorough guide to pastel materials and techniques ever assembled in a single volume, this is the book for anyone working with pastels, from beginners to experienced artists looking to develop more professional skills. Defining the pastel medium broadly - color in stick form to be used for drawing and painting simultaneously - the author creates works of sensuous textures and colors, ranging from subtle to intense. He uses traditional soft and hard pastels, as well as oil pastels and oil sticks, showing the effects produced by each in step-by-step demonstrations. Included are sophisticated ways to combine pastels with water, acrylic, alkyd gels, and oil paint for stunning mixed-media results."