I love working with sanded pastel paper. My favorite is Colourfix Coated Pastel Paper by Art Spectrum. It's a wonderfully versatile archival surface  that "withstands all manner of artistic experimentation." One of these, and not the least in order of importance, is the application of heat.

In the examples below you can see how I develop a flower petal with Prismacolor Colored Pencils and Caran d'Ache Neocolor II Wax Crayons.

Step 1

Step 2

Step 1: After finishing the first petal, I'm getting ready to begin the second one.
Step 2: On the cool zone and with sharp Neocolors, I block in all the local colors of the petal. The tooth of the paper easily captures the waxy pigments.

Step 3

Step 3 - detail

Step 3: After moving the paper to the warm zone, I begin melting the waxy pigments with a taper point color shaper. It's a simple process that can also be accomplished with a flat chisel color shaper (use the side of the tip for melting). This approach is much faster and gives you more control than adding water to Neocolor II. First of all there is no wait for the paper to dry - the melted pigments solidify as soon as the paper is removed from the heat - and the intensity and hue of the color do not diminish. Besides, it is so much fun I just can't get enough.

Step 4

Step 5

Step 4: The petal is now covered by a thin layer of melted pigments that I like to call "wax foundation."
Step 5: On the warm zone, with a sharp white Verithin I penetrate the previous layer and create fine ridges that will become the petal's veins.

Step 6

Step 6 - detail

Step 6: Here I'm developing the colors and the details of the petals. The layering of colored pencils is accomplished with Prismacolor Premier using the side of the pencil point. On the warm zone the waxy pigments melt and blend in with the foundation; on the cool zone they will sit on top for optical mixing. Sharp Verithin pencils are used for details and fine lines.

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9 comments on this post.

  1. I am always amazed at how beautiful the end result is, when the beginning is so plain and ordinary. I find that, for me, getting past the 'plain' stage is the most difficult, as I feel it will never look good. Thank you for showing us that the beginning is important to the final look, and that thoughtful careful work yeilds such wonderful results.
    (Not to mention also that you are very very talented.)

    Please keep posting these In Progress pieces - they inspire me to keep trying new things.

  2. Comment by Ester Roi at 3:38 PM on May 23, 2010

    Thank you, Terry, for your insightful comment. Learning to postpone gratification and to endure the “ugly phase” is a daily struggle for me.

  3. Wonderful description of your process and wonderful photos too!! What? Your work has an ugly phase? Impossible! :-)

  4. Comment by Ester Roi at 12:38 PM on May 25, 2010

    You'd better believe it, Teresa.

  5. Love the new flowers. Thanks for sharing them. I am still learning something new with each piece I do. I'm so glad to be back with colored pencils and oil pastels, and constantly inspired by your updates.
    Many Thanks.
    Hazen Folse

  6. Comment by Ester Roi at 6:31 PM on May 25, 2010

    Thank you, Hazen. I learn something new with each piece too and I'm just glad to share what I learn.

  7. Comment by Janet Grundas at 11:48 AM on May 26, 2010

    I just received my new Icarus Board last week and am so excited about trying out the demo's you are presenting. Thank you for the demo's and tips along the way.

  8. Comment by Ester Roi at 12:08 PM on May 26, 2010

    You are welcome, Janet. I hope you have fun with it.

  9. Comment by Jill at 7:12 PM on September 02, 2010

    Thanks so much for this! I've always wondered how in the world I'd use my white pencil... besides on dark paper of course. Can you give more examples on using white colored pencils please?