Appreciating pastels

Luxurious Colour

This is my box of 60 vibrant Terry Ludwig pastels. I can’t remember what I paid for it but I do remember that it was expensive. I wasn’t very happy with my purchase. The pastels didn’t seem all that vibrant to me and I found their shape awkward. Consequently, they have spent a lot of time in a cupboard.

The box only ever comes out of the cupboard when I am painting flowers. I find what I need and then pack them up when I am done. Back they go into the cupboard to be forgotten until my next flower painting.

So I find myself painting a coneflower in sunlight. A preparatory sketch shows potential but I am not happy with the colours. The violet flower in my sketch is almost ghostly in appearance and receding into the background. So I find myself fetching my box of Terry Ludwigs for the final painting. The change is wondrous to me. The flower bursts forth with an ultra violet radiance and I am happy. Now I am finally pleased with my box of expensive pastels. My appreciation of them has grown slowly, and almost grudgingly, though I expect they will go back to the cupboard until my next flower painting