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Pastels are a medium that fall between both paintings and drawings. The finished pieces tend to have a similar look to paintings, despite the process being different. Pastels are more of a “drawing” tool rather than a “painting” one.

A pastel usually consists of powdered pigment and binder in a stick form. The same powdered pigment used in most art supplies is also used in pastel, with the difference being that pastels in appearance are a cross between a stick of chalk and a crayon. I like the convenience of being able to hold them the same way you would hold a pencil or a crayon. 

Pastels come in 4 forms: hard pastels, soft pastels, pastel pencils, and oil pastels. My personal favorites are soft pastels and oil pastels.


There are little differences between the four types, but they are still prevalent enough to distinguish the types and be unique. Only through experimentation did I determine which types I like to use the most. Soft pastels are easy to smudge and blend (they are very chalky), but hard pastels are good for creating tight, precise details. I like the looseness of soft pastels over the detailed hard pastels. Pastel pencils are pastels that are in a wooden casing, this makes them less messy and more controlled, perfect for going over details. Personally I like the messy element that comes with using pastels without a wooden casing. Oil pastels give the best “paint”-like finish and they have a wax binder this makes them very similar to crayons. Because of the wax finish that oil pastels have it makes them very hard to blend with other pastel types. 


I mostly tend to draw abstract faces and sometimes I like to play with some Arabic calligraphy (which is super ironic because Arabic is not my strong point at all). Mostly I just enjoy using different colors and making them blend and melt together.

Pieces like the first on top of the page (with many different colored shapes and different faces) are usually my go to warm up for when I have an art block. I draw some random shapes with matching colors and then try to come up with something creative to do with them.


The first time I remember trying soft pastels was when my grandmother took me to her atelier and I saw them in front of me. She gave me a piece of paper to scribble and doodle on while she carried on with her normal business. I must have been around 5 or 6 years old, very fascinated with my grandmother’s paintings and trying my own hand at these strange new chalky tools. As soon as I started drawing I applied too much pressure and broke the soft pastel, this is probably the only reason I remember this whole story . I remember the dread and fear I felt because “Oh no I just broke nana’s tool D:”, to my surprise she only chuckled and pinched my cheek telling me to be careful.


Some of the pieces I made were a little cheeky to say the least. 

Overall pastels (especially soft pastels) are a really fun medium for me to use. Especially when it is a good pigmented brand.
Location: Glime Beach, San Stefano, El Raml 1, Egypt

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