OIL PAINTING: After the Bath, c.1883
Most contemporary amateur and professional pastel artists trace their roots to 19th century French impressionists, especially Edgar Degas. Degas took his pastel work very seriously, developing his own fixative allowing him to paint over previously painted surfaces. Degas ' figures were often lit from below and painted while singing or dancing. Degas frequently employed underpainting in watercolor to intensify the light catching effects of dry pastels, as in ''After the Bath''