Selecting a Limited Palette in Pastel

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Award-winning Michigan artist Anne Kindl’s exuberant florals, with their joyously saturated colors and dancing marks, look as if they might have been painted in short, energetic intuitive sessions at the easel. In actuality, the artist works through a slow, thoughtful process for each painting. “While the end result of my pastels may appear free-flowing and abstract,” she says, “there’s a specific discipline employed each time to arrive at the end point.”

Here, Kindl shares the thought process—including the selection of a limited palette—for painting a bold floral with a limited palette.

Demonstration: Poinsettia

*Photo of a red poinsettia used for visual reference.*

Step 1: Recording the Story

If a flower captures my attention, I record my emotional and visual responses in a journal. In particular, the poinsettia has a special place in my heart, as it’s a transformative flower that radiates energy, even in the midst of a cold, desaturated winter landscape. Bursting with vibrant colors such as red, pink, white, gold, and green, the leafy flower exudes a sense of warmth and celebration.

Observational sketching is a process that develops
muscle memory and an intuitive response rather than relying only on the reference.

Step 2: Observing, Deconstructing, and Sketching

To better understand the intricacies of a flower, I first observe its characteristics and then deconstruct it by sketching the petals, stamen, leaves, and stems separately.

*To draw this final poinsettia composition on UART 500 beige pastel paper, I used a Faber-Castell Pitt Graphite Matte 14B pencil.*

Step 3: Drawing a Small Composition

Drawing a floral composition is like assembling pieces of a puzzle. I explore different shapes through sketching until I discover the ideal form that captures the flower’s distinct essence. Sketching multiple small thumbnails enables me to freely experiment and map out a course for the painting.

Step 4: Selecting a Limited Palette

A limited color palette establishes the foundation for a harmonious and balanced color scheme. These colors serve as a starting point and influence subsequent color choices as the painting progresses. Drawing from the vibrant red hues of the poinsettia flower, the 12-color wheel is a helpful resource for exploring various color combinations.

A square tetrad color scheme is used for this demonstration. This means there are four colors comprised of two complementary pairs. In this particular case, red and green will serve as the primary color complements, and blue-violet and yellow-orange will be secondary.

*The four key colors of red, green, blue-violet, and yellow-orange form a foundational harmonious palette.*

Adding complements that are analogous to primary complements on the color wheel add interest to the overall tone of the palette. Additionally, gray is incorporated as a neutral color to balance the intensity of colors in the palette.

Complements of red-orange and blue-green, plus gray, provide interesting warm and cool accents and keep the palette balanced. Red-violet and yellow-green are also analogous complements of red-orange and blue-green. Choosing these complements would set a different tone to the palette.

The limited palette can be expanded by adding a range of light and dark values of each color. Additionally, color nuances such as intensity (brightness or dullness) can also be adjusted at this time to set the mood of the painting.

*The practice of creating limited palettes using no more than four to six colors, plus gray, is a valuable practice to establish foundational and harmonious color.*

I applied Amsterdam fluid acrylics in Yellow Ochre 227 and Pyrrole Red 315 to UART 500 beige pastel paper using a flat brush and lifted in areas with a dry cloth.

Step 5: Underpainting

The underpainting is the first introduction of color. It sets the foundation, perception, and atmospheric mood of the painting. In this study, I applied fluid acrylics in analogous colors of red and golden yellows to create a silhouette of the flower and add an underlying glow.

Guided by intuitive mark-making, I applied multiple layers of pastel using a swiping technique to define hard and soft edges. Dabbing and line techniques were applied to finish layers and highlight focal points.

Step 6: Applying Pastel Layers

The initial compositional shapes are blocked in with the primary red and green complements. Multiple layers of pastel from the palette are applied, starting with darker shades, adding middle values, and finishing with light values.

This is my process for creation, but each of us will develop a distinctly different result, even if the subject matter is the same. The goal of creation is not to mimic an artist; instead, it’s to learn the necessary skills and techniques to develop your own personal artistic style.

Step 7: Finishing Marks

After taking time to pause and look at the piece with fresh eyes, I added refinements to complete the painting’s story. This study was used as a guide to create the actual painting, Poinsettia.

Learn With Anne Kindl!

Want to learn the secrets for capturing the radiant color and beauty of florals in pastel? Then join award-winning artist Anne Kindl this fall for her Artists Network’s Artists Classroom @ Home live virtual workshops.

In Kindl’s “Painting Luminous Florals in Pastel” workshops, geared to all skill levels, you’ll learn how to:

use the power of journaling to deepen your connection to nature.
add luminosity with glowing underpainting techniques.
create color harmony with visually engaging color palettes.
embrace intuitive mark-making to generate energy and movement.

About the Artist

The work of Michigan-based pastelist Anne Kindl has been featured in juried exhibitions, public art installations and private art collections. She’s a Member of the Great Lakes Pastel Society, a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America, and a Master Circle Member of the International Association of Pastel Societies. She teaches classes and workshops throughout the year.

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