Emma Colbert Art

I have worked as a professional artist for over 13 years and have specialised in soft pastel for even longer. I love this tactile medium. How saturated the colours are, how the pigment applies to the surface, and the control and versatility it gives you.

I paint commissions, including pets, portraits, and landscapes, but I enjoy all subject matter. I also have a series of wildlife and landscape fine art which I have sold through galleries and exhibitions, as well as my limited edition prints on my website.

I especially love to paint animals and I suppose that is a common thread throughout most of my work and personal life as I involve myself a lot with animal rescue. But these days I enjoy painting anything from the main subject to the window sill that catches the light. For me, it is always about the light and shade and how I can use colour to depict that.

Several years ago I became an associate artist for Unison Soft Colour Pastels, my favourite handmade pastels from the UK. They initially asked me to design a palette of colours for painting animals and since then I have worked closely with them to develop many useful colour palettes.

I started a blog on my website to share my techniques and to help others get into the world of soft pastel because there was not much information online when I was learning. Since then I’ve created a successful Youtube channel where I share many educational videos as well as my Patreon channel where over 500 students subscribe to gain access to my full catalogue of tutorials.

These days I spend as much time filming and making video content as I do painting. While I miss getting my hands dusty for as much time as I used to, I also find joy in sharing my skills and knowledge with other artists. I felt disappointed in my own art education and much of the time I wasn’t given the information I needed to improve. I aim to explain my process and share the knowledge I’ve picked up from both my studies and experimentation over the last 20 years.

I hope that I can continue to push myself further as an artist as while I teach, I am always learning. Just this year I tried my first proper still life painting. I enjoyed the freedom of working from life immensely. I know that I am still a work in progress and hope that never changes. ~ @EmmaColbertArt

Art Mussenden Temple