513 by Neath Luck

nl310810 — 2025-10-02 09:09:20 UTC

Mary Herbert’s work using soft pastels had a great influence on my work and direction of working. As I had been working consistently just using soft pastels generally (no smudging), seeing her work inspired the new techniques that I could go on to use. In the article tagged here it says ‘There’s a kind of poetry to it’, this quote is perfect to describe how my work has been going so far. I’ve been getting used to the angles and ways to even hold the pastel but now moving on it feels more natural.

nl310810 — 2025-10-02 09:13:25 UTC

This piece from Herbert

particularly inspired my practice. Using the pastels to layer and layer and layer is so successful in effects and I have not tried this yet. Alongisde this, the ghostly creatures in the piece go so well with my ongoing theme of the tudors, having some ghosts pictured is a good idea and I will try this.

nl310810 — 2025-10-02 09:15:33 UTC

Amber Leia Jones’ works on fabrics using the soft pastels. This is another technique I have not tried out, they’d seem to work out more like a powdery pigment and smudge easily which could work well in creating some more whimsical pieces.

nl310810 — 2025-10-02 09:24:29 UTC

Leia Jones layers a smudgy base layer with a more crispy outline over the top of the smudges. This again is super effective as it creates this hazy beautiful background, but then if you look closer it turns into a scene with people and different elements to it. Through this brief I could associate doing this with the ghost ideas as mentioned before. By creating a more beautiful background, a stereotypical tudor house or castle, and then layering on top of this a ghost of Anne Boleyn or even applying other techniques I have found such as mixing the pastel with water.

nl310810 — 2025-10-02 09:27:03 UTC

Paul Verdell uses oil pastels, however I think his was of working can be applied to mine also. The technique of creating this sketchy look for the portraits is super interesting. I’m thinking of looking at doing this technique perhaps for an old portrait of one of the queens. It makes the work feel faster and gives the pieces movement, that when applying the pastels like normal it’s hard to find the movement.

nl310810 — 2025-10-02 09:30:06 UTC

As well as using the sketchy look Verdell has, I am also taking inspiration from the colour grading he uses. The shadowing by just using one block colour is super effective. Alongside this the mark making is incredible, he uses different directions for the lines to create shape and texture within the piece. Making the work not flat, which is an issue I am finding with the pastels, it’s harder to create depth and shadowing.

nl310810 — 2025-10-28 10:19:03 UTC

nl310810 — 2025-10-28 10:20:33 UTC

Kentridges work was such a great influence to my work. Especially the way he uses the charcoals to express movement and emotion. He simply smudges the pastel and it immediately creates this beautiful piece which is so fluid.

nl310810 — 2025-10-28 10:21:07 UTC

nl310810 — 2025-10-28 10:24:11 UTC

Mazon’s way of simply making the pastels boil a little by creating the same frame over and over again is such a simple but effective way of animating and bringing a piece to life

nl310810 — 2025-10-28 10:25:37 UTC

nl310810 — 2025-10-28 10:27:32 UTC

nl310810 — 2025-10-28 10:28:47 UTC

nl310810 — 2025-10-31 09:26:24 UTC

Gabriel Greenough & Katy Wang create these small depictions of life. Although being short the way they mark make and create the movements in the piece really brings it to life and takes you to where they’re showing you.

nl310810 — 2025-10-31 09:29:20 UTC

Yosef Phelan

nl310810 — 2025-10-31 09:31:35 UTC

Laina Deene

nl310810 — 2025-10-31 09:34:50 UTC

Emma Kelly’s work really creates a character and brings the atmosphere from whatever time period shes working on.

nl310810 — 2025-10-31 09:36:03 UTC

nl310810 — 2025-10-31 09:37:17 UTC

nl310810 — 2025-10-31 09:38:49 UTC

nl310810 — 2025-10-31 09:40:18 UTC

Quieten Blakes mark making is so free and expressive.

nl310810 — 2025-10-31 09:43:28 UTC

nl310810 — 2025-11-04 14:31:45 UTC

Maillard has a more subtle way to animating GIF’s. They consistently seem emotionally charged but softer and more gentle to look at than others. Helped me explore how contrast will create emotion in my work.

nl310810 — 2025-11-04 14:33:38 UTC

Molly Fairhurst has a playful approach to her GIF’s, there is never a crazy amount of movement in them but the amount of movement that is there is enough to bring them alive. She’s loose, experimental and full of life. Her work encouraged me to embrace fluidity and imperfections.