Pastel painting atelier : essential lessons in techniques, practices, and materials / Ellen Eagle ; foreword by Maxine Hong Kingston.

-- A luminous history, a luminous future -- 1. Basic materials : What is pastel? ; Building a collection of pastels ; Experimenting with pastels ; Storing and organizing pastels ; Examining the lightfastness of colors ; Addressing questions of toxicity ; Selecting paper with care -- 2. Advanced studio practices : Making your own pastels ; Making your own supports ; Organizing your studio ; Keeping a notebook -- 3. A look at the genres : Portraiture ; Self-portraiture ; Still life ; Landscape ; The figure -- 4. The working process : Creating black-and-white tonal studies ; Establishing proportion ; Capturing gesture ; Articulating composition ; Remembering that first impression ; Perceiving color ; Applying pastel ; Laying in the painting ; Gradating tone ; Developing form ; Establishing whether the work is finished ; Identifying problems ; Making corrections -- 5. On my easel : Pigeon Glancing ; Underwood ; Anastasio with Pillow ; Dried Flowers, Garlic Skins, Fabric, and Threads ; Bee Balm ; Emily in Profile -- 6. Display and handling : Caring for pastel paintings and drawings ; Framing pastel paintings ; Traveling with pastel paintings - Notable public collections of pastel paintings and drawings.