How to Draw Like Paula Rego

Katy Papineau (2020)

Follow this step-by-step guide to pastel drawing with artist Katy Papineau.
For further tips and details about this activity, visit our website at https://bit.ly/2zoWj2q.
Please note, filming took place before the UK’s lockdown measures were introduced.

You will need:

– A drawing board

– An easel

– Pastel paper

– Hard pastels

– Soft pastels

– Conte pencils

– White liquitex gesso

– Black or dark grey acrylic paint

– A wide paintbrush

– Fixative

– Masking tape

– A selection of props

All of the materials are available online or at your local art supply shop.

“I think that if you do pictures, they’re about what’s inside you as much as what’s outside you.”

Paula Rego

Artist Paula Rego, is known for her paintings and drawings based on folk tales. Her work often reshapes traditional stories to reflect personal experiences, and focuses on female roles within the family.

In 1994, she began to experiment with pastels and has continued to use them ever since. She describes working in pastels ‘like painting with your fingers’. The scenes in her drawings almost always take place in domestic settings and are filled with mystery.

“As you are drawing something, it very often turns into something else, and you can go with it. It develops in a completely different way. It’s organic and it’s done with the hand.”

Paula Rego

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