Let’s Talk about Pastels
“Pastel” is one of those art supply words that can mean several different things. A color mixed with white is often referred to as a “pastel” color. Pastel can also designate a stick composed of artist’s pigment & binder. This “small roll of paste”, the word for which is pastello in Italian, is where the stick gets its name. Soft pastels are made up of pigment, a binder-often methyl cellulose or gum arabic-- and calcium carbonate or kaolin clay.
Calcium carbonate & kaolin are the two “white” pigments used to tint the pure pigment; the former produces harder sticks, the latter produces softer. Note that our “pastellos” are assortments of tinted colors & thus the origin of the common usage of the word “pastel.”
“Soft pastel”, “chalk pastel” & “dry pastel” are all used interchangeably to designate a dry stick made with a water soluble binder. Soft pastels can also be hard; the greater the proportion of binder to pigment, the harder the pastel & vice versa. The clay or chalk added to tint the pigment plays a part in the hardness, too, as discussed above. It is a good idea to use harder pastels earlier in your picture & softer ones later. If you reverse the process, your harder pastels tend to scratch away your softer pastels.
Wet Paint stocks seven lines of traditional soft pastels. From hardest to softest, in our opinion, they are: NuPastel, Holbein, Rembrandt, Winsor & Newton, Unison, Sennelier & Schmincke.
Pastel pencils are basically harder pastels in pencil form. They are ideal for underdrawing & for situations when a messy stick is inappropriate, like sketching at the museum. Wet Paint carries Stabilo Carbothello & Faber Castell pastel pencils.
Oil pastels are created from a combination of pigment, wax & non-drying oil (not to be confused with oil sticks or paint sticks, which are made with a drying oil, just like oil paint). The non-drying oil makes oil pastels an extremely rich & gestural medium. It also prevents the use of other media over the oil pastel; oil pastel should not have anything besides more oil pastel on top of it.
The French color company Sennelier is credited with the development of the oil pastel at the behest of Pablo Picasso, who wanted to apply color quickly to a variety of surfaces. Wet Paint stocks two sizes of Sennelier’s fine product, as well as oil pastels from Holbein, Caran D’Ache & Sakura, the latter of which is the manufacturer of the most “name recognized” oil pastels: Cray-Pas.
If you haven’t worked with pastel in the past, now is a great time to take the plunge!
You can purchase many of these products at our Online Store by clicking on the links above.
TOP
In a Fix Over Pastel Surfaces?
Now that you know all about pastels, let’s review what goes on top of, & underneath, them:
FIXATIVES
A fixative is a liquid which is sprayed over a drawing to better preserve it & prevent smudging. Artists often question whether drawings should be fixed, as spray fixative can alter the look of a drawing if applied too heavily by darkening or coarsening the color. Framing behind glass is considered the best protection (& in the case of oil pastels, the only option), but isn’t always practical.
Permanent fixatives are used on a finished drawing as a light sealant, while a workable fixative is used during the drawing process to extend the “tooth” of the surface allowing pastel to be built up & is best applied before adding the final layer to minimize the diminishing of color intensity.
Fixative also reduces wax bloom in colored pencil works & prevents loss of fine charcoal particles. Krylon & Blair both offer excellent options for workable fixatives. Lascaux is the choice of the Wet Paint staff for a permanent fixative. This conservator-quality spray is as clear as water, non-yellowing & resistant to aging. It is suitable for fixing drawings in soft pastel, pencil & charcoal & is used to protect digital prints as well.
Follow the instructions on the can & always use adequate ventilation when working with spray fixatives.
PASTEL SURFACES
When choosing the surface or support to draw on there are numerous things to consider; tooth (how much pastel pigment the ground will hold), texture (the feel of the surface when pastel is applied), color (used to unify the surface where it shows through the drawing), durability (allowing for blending & reworking) & archival quality, to name a few.
Wet Paint offers a staggering selection of supports for the pastel artist. Perennial favorites include Canson Mi-Tientes, Hahnemuhle Ingres & Fabiano Tiziano. If a larger size is required, many artists choose Rives BFK or Stonehenge.
More & more soft pastel artists are turning to an abrasive or sanded substrate for their drawings. Adhesion is improved as more pastel is able to hold to a remarkably durable surface that resembles fine sandpaper. Our selection of sanded pastel surfaces continues to grow with the addition of new colors from Art Spectrum, joining the ranks with Wallis, Sansfix, Ampersand Pastelbord & LaCarte.
Some intrepid artists choose to prepare their own surface. Wet Paint stocks pastel primers from Golden, Lascaux & Art Spectrum. These allow the soft pastel artist to create their own sanded surface & extend the possibilities for working on large or unusual materials.
As mentioned earlier, the oil pastel artist has a wealth of surface choices at their disposal. The oil pastel was invented to work well on almost any ground. Gesso primed canvas or paper, watercolor paper, wood, metal…you name it, oil pastel probably works on it. Sennelier produces a pad of heavy paper for oil pastel, one of the few supports made specifically for the medium.
TOP
ALL
SALE PRICES ON THIS PAGE VALID MARCH 1ST THROUGH APRIL 30TH, 2008
|
SpotLite on PanPastel
Once in a great while there is a product developed that can redefine our preconceptions of art processes; PanPastel is that product!
PanPastel is a high quality, artists’ grade soft pastel, but in cake, rather than stick, format.
Each of the 60 PanPastel colors are packaged in a unique, plastic jar from which the dry color is drawn. Simply lift the color using the range of Sofft tools, or your own sponges or brushes. It’s just like applying paint, but it’s dry! Minimal binder & fillers makes PanPastel super soft & results in a formulation that produces very little dust. Each PanPastel color is extremely light fast, as they are manufactured using the same professional pigments as traditional artists’ soft pastels.
PanPastels are fully compatible with stick pastels & can be used similarly to any of the softest varieties. However, PanPastels can be used in ways that regular soft pastels can’t: covering large areas quickly, achieving extremely thin glazes & making painterly marks.
The PanPastel jars are threaded so that they interlock together, making them easy to store & easy to travel with. The jars are ultra-durable, too, so you don’t have to contend with the breakage of a traditional pastel. Individual colors come with an introductory pack of PanPastel Sofft tools; foam applicators for painting, drawing & blending. A huge selection of these tools is also available for individual purchase, as are PanPastel sets.
BUY NOW:
Color Chart
Individual Pans
PanPastel Sets
Sofft Tools
TOP
Art Spectrum ColourFix Paper Pack
This special sample pack contains every sheet of Art Spectrum Colourfix™ pastel & multimedia artists’ paper. Printed on 300gsm hot press watercolour paper & with its 20 dense, lightfast colours & fine deep tooth, Colourfix™ is a superb substrate for dry media such as soft pastels, charcoal & pencils, as well as acrylics, inks, silverpoint, oil pastels, gouache & watercolors. The natural toothy surface will hold multiple layers of pastel without the need for fixative, allowing the velvet bloom & vibrant colour of pastel to be preserved. The tough, toothy surface can be sanded, scrubbed, soaked & reworked over & over. SKU: SPRS20
BUY NOW
TOP
TWO DRAWING TOOL BARGAINS!
Jack Richeson Vine Charcoal
Thin Vine Soft (24/box)
3/16" diameter sku: 870041
BUY NOW
Conte Crayon 2-Packs
The premier drawing sticks!
WIDE
BUY NOW:
SANGUINE MEDIUM/BLACK HB
SANGUINE/BLACK 2B
SANGUINE XVIII/WHITE HB
TRADITIONAL
BUY NOW:
NATURAL SANGUINE
BISTRE
WHITE 2B
BLACK 2B
BLACK HB
TOP
RainbowBrush Sets
Choose from two sets featuring the world’s first patented rainbow marker! No gaps between colors, no paint tubes, brushes, jars or spatters-- no messy setup or cleanup-- just fun & easy painting! These sets come with 5 RainbowBrush markers & a project booklet. Learn how to make beautiful calligraphic characters with animal motifs with the Alphabet edition, and how to create fantastic landscapes with the Land & Seascapes edition! SKUs: 98102/10
BUY NOW:
ALPHABET EDITION
LAND & SEA EDITION
TOP
Creativity for Kids Designed BY YOU
Fashion Studio
A surprise hit from the holiday season makes an encore appearance! Dream up your own designer originals & get ready for the runway. Ultimate set includes a dress mannequin, sewing essentials, sketch book, yards of fabric, swatch booklet, trims, embellishments, satin dress form, garment bag & a fashion design manual. Embellish the dress included in your kit or use the material provided to dream up your own creative couture. Voted “Best Toy of the Year” by
PARENTS Magazine! Instore stock only; while supplies last. SKU: 1252F
BUY NOW
TOP
Book Sale!
Take 20% off a wide variety of selected books! We’ve got numerous monographs, art instruction & kids books to choose from – sale applies to our specific selection of in-stock titles only, while supplies last. INSTORE STOCK ONLY / WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!
TOP
|
