At work with harmonious pastels 和諧粉彩, the mood immediately turns soft, and the pastel painting becomes the quintessential soulful, dancing colors luring one to fly out into an escapist world of natural beauty on a piece of paper. Pale, dusty tints rubbed against the canvas in almost imperceptible movements melt together into some unobtrusive landscape view. Suddenly, the willow’s leaves rustle and tangle in your grasp, the gurgle of a small brook serenading the scenery, heard afar, as if one had just breathed life into some silent symphony.

The Pastel painting is less a medium than a maze of wonder. A plain piece of pastel scratch, yet as your fingers blur the edges, so morphs the landscape to alive, breathing. The feel of warmth from the sun touching dew-kissed grass, the strokes of pastel echoing the gentle flutter of butterflies-mere fancies adding an enchanting twist to a piece of traditional work.

But one may ask, why pastels? Why not oil paints, or even watercolors? With pastels, one can boast a rare vibrancy and immediacy. You come into deep contact with your art through the tactile feel when you smudge them, much as would a potter feel damp earth mold between his fingers.

First, pastel needs guts. The challenge is its attraction-a stroke may set a scene aflame or cast it into darkness. It’s exciting and unpredictable, like a thriller-a turn of every page may take you to any place. Yet, it is that very un-pre dictiveness which brings in the joy, holds a heartbeat, which demands you be correctly involved.

Pastel painting is an invitation to experimentation: to layer openly, to blend, and to play, just as nature plays with her seasons. You can start a meadow at dawn and, in two bold streaks, change it into twilight over the hills. Light-playful, just like jumping through puddles on a rainy summer-the splash will be a surprise and a delight.