Pastels (etc!) Book List (revised 3Dec12)

Revised 3Dec12
"A" List -- Excellent books. I refer to them over and over:

• The Pastel Book: Materials and Techniques for Today's Artist, by Bill Creevy (1991) -- This is my favorite by far. It's considerably out of date with regard to the materials (some of his delightful-looking papers don't exist anymore) but his diverse and out-there-on-the-edge techniques are all fascinating and show the versatility and vitality of the medium.
• The Pastel Artist's Handbook: Materials, Techniques, Color and Composition, Style, Subject, by Sally Harper (2004) -- Good advice, very complete.
• Degas Pastels, by JS Boggs and A Maheux (1992) -- Inspirational! Ed Degas is thought the modern 'master' of the medium. Good reproductions. Useful commentary on each piece.
  
• Raw Color with Pastels, by Mark Leach (2006) --- Again, as with the Creevy book, examples of how far and how wide pastels can take you. Buy this one just to see the surprising images.
  
  

"B" List -- Interesting but certainly NOT necessary. The "A" List books are far better:

• The Art of Pastel Painting, by Alan Flattmann (1987) Very dated, but still containing some good advice with regard to materials, studio organization, and techniques.
  
•  Painting with Pastels: Easy Techniques to Master the Medium, by Maggie Price (2007)
• Pastel Workbook: A Complete Course in 10 Lessons. by Jackie Simmons (2007)
• Pastel Painting Techniques, by Guy Roddon (1987)
• Pastel School: A Practical Guide to Painting and Drawing with Pastels, by Hazel Harrison (1996) -- Along the lines of the Harper book. Nicely illustrated.
• Capturing Radiant Light and Color in Oils and Soft Pastels, by Susan Sarback (2007) -- This is the spiritualist/kumbaya approach to color theory. A controversial book! Suzie says stare at the shadow of a banana long enough and you can see all the colors of the rainbow. Well now. We'll have to take High Preistess Sarback's word for it!
• All About Techniques in Pastel, by "Parramón’s Editorial Team" (English version dated 1998). Translated from the Spanish. Nicely organized. Well-illustrated.
  
  

Other EXCELLENT books of note:

• Confident Color: An Artist's Guide to Harmony, Contrast, and Unity, by Nita Leland (2008) --- This is her new edition of the old classic Exploring Color. A very well-done and very clear guide to the skillful use of color. For those of us that came to pastels from drawing and for whom color is a dazzling wash of confusion, this books is very useful. Very comforting.
• Mastering Composition, by Ian Roberts (2008) -- Excellent and very clear intro to composition.
• Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting, by John Carlson (1973) -- Totally lacking in quality reproductions and color illustrations (there is nothing reproduced in color -- not even in the chapter on 'Color' -- ha! absurd!) and totally lacking in 21st century political correctness (all artists are either "men" or "he"), it more than makes up for with excellent tips, charts, illustrations, and advice. 
• Abstract Painting: Concepts and Techniques, by Vicky Perry (2005) -- This is an interestingly practical presentation of the tenets of the abstraction. Ignore the two chapters about oil and acrylic painting (about 20 pages).
  
• Art and Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking, by D Bayles and T Orland (1993) -- Get past all your excuses and just get to it.