The contrast between the pastel drawing that is released on the surface and the one that makes it look of the high-end is usually a mix of colors. Not skill alone. Not detail. Even the very structure of the colors of the juxtaposition. See our helpful hints here!

I did not think it was so at first. I thought that the art that seems expensive must be art of perfect expertise. It is so much easier, it happens, and a little shrewd.

This is one of the first things that I noticed when I was taking a course in pastel painting, the usage of the pure colors. What straight-off-the-stick pink! Never left but virtually the same. It was scalded, superimposed with the less sharp or somewhat bland.

It is only that change that makes everything.

Among them is soft contrast. You have toned them down, instead of mixing colors up beside or between. Think of dusty blue and cozy gray, or dull peach and green. There is no screaming and nothing out of balance, one can hardly be opposed to this balance.

It is giving that expensive appearance without making much effort.

The maneuver of snatching in of unexpected colors is also an act. Shadows do not appear darker versions of the same color. They may include the tints of purple, vivid blue or even greyish red. It is unnatural to start with, but on paper it provides it with the effect that cannot be provided by shading.

And at first you do not see it. That is the case with it.

Amazingly, the overlaying is brought forward. You do not smooth it, but leave patches of the various colours showing through. It is a line, thin, on a darker background, but not altogether over it. It produces an opulent feel yet the method is rather informal.

I had the habit of overblending. Big mistake.

One more aspect that makes the game different is you have limited palette. The less extensive use of colors is counter intuitive yet the piece appears to be more integrated. There is nothing out of place when all the colors refer to a small group. It is colder, less spontaneous.

And it is, it is more expensive to read.

There is also no problem with warm and cool balance, but it is not a strict one. It is quite contrast as opposed to rules. A warmness to coldness of the ground, or vice versa. Such a subtle impulse and counter-impression give the work an interest without a busy-ness.

One can easily go overboard with it. Twice or even more I have done that.

The most striking information is that even little changes may change the whole atmosphere. The painting appears more developed in light gray. Shadow coolers are tapped and highlights are formed without making them brighter.

It’s not dramatic. It’s quiet.

And that is the reason why it is probably so effective. Pastel paintings which seem costly do not rely on the use of vivid selection of colors. They hold back to an extent that the interrelation between colors is doing the work not screaming to get attention.