Martin Aveling
I first discovered pastel pencils as a teenager when my mother gave a set of Derwent pastel pencils. I still recall the tingle down my spine as I opened that fresh new box of so many colours and started to put pencil to paper. I was instantly hooked. The powdery nature of the pastel pencils felt as though it was made for depicting the rough, dusty texture of bones, and yet I was also able to achieve firm lines and detail by sharpening the pencils to a fine point. My productivity and enthusiasm went up dramatically and, two decades on, I am just as obsessed as ever.
It felt like the culmination of a wonderful long-term relationship when I was invited to be an ambassador for the Derwent brand last year. I was then thrilled when Derwent approached me to produce the artwork for their new pastel pencil tins. We chose a tropical subject; it seemed fitting (above).
Pastel pencils may, at first, seem like quite a messy and frustrating medium to work with. Their soft, chalky nature brings with it the risk of smudging, and this can cause great angst when getting started. However, I would urge you to stick with them. Think of the process as one of working with an excitable puppy. The product is beautiful and full of potential, but seemingly erratic. It requires training to lovingly iron out certain traits, so as to make it better behaved.