Fingers smeared with colourful pastels, making soft strokes on paper to create delightful paintings. Sound fun? Forum Art Gallery will be conducting a one-day soft pastel workshop guided by artist Manisha Raju, on July 25.
Basic techniques of pastel paintings, understanding the medium and exploring oneself will be taught by her.
“A person who wants to learn new techniques will be able to pick up and practise. It is a very beautiful, fragile medium. The final effect is really pleasing,” says Manisha,
Pastels are natural pigments. You can use your fingers, and when you apply them, it turns into powder. Every medium interacts with the surface in very different ways. When you press your pastel-covered finger on the paper, it smudges and smears. With its smooth texture, you can get full control and explore your mind,” she says about pastels.
As a professional painter, Manisha says pastels were her first love. “It is my favourite medium. You can feel it on your fingers while spreading it on the paper. I have developed a different attachment with them,” she tells us passionately. “I have my own style and I explore it through the pastel colours. The brightness and the intensity of pastels are different which are not found in other mediums,” says Manisha, who has been painting her thoughts since she was a child and has showcased her work at many exhibitions and fairs in the country.
“One is more in control with pastels than with watercolours as you use your fingers,” says Shalini Biswajit, artist and owner of Forum Art Gallery. “This workshop is for those who follow art and are interested to learn a new technique,” she adds.
The workshop will be held on July 25 from 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm. For details and to register, call 42115596.