Everything you Wondered About Pastel

I refer to my own pastel pieces as "paintings" and am often questioned about that terminology. Most often I cover the "ground" (surface) I am working on completely with pastel. Therefore my pieces are considered pastel paintings. Occasionally you will see a pastel work that leaves much of the ground exposed. When this is the case the piece is considered to be a pastel sketch. Since pastels are so versatile and each artist employs their own individual technique, pastel work can really run the gamut from a basic rudimentary sketch to a painting with every bit of surface covered in multiple layers of pastel.

As I mentioned previously, this medium is extremely versatile, therefore also terribly fun to work with. An artist can choose to leave a few well placed strokes on the paper or blend with fingers, cotton balls, make-up applicators or tools created and shaped specifically for the job. If one selects a ground with more "tooth" multiple layers of pastel can be applied - one directly over the other. Then you can decide to blend or not to blend - whatever suits your artistic fancy.

There is no drying time involved, so you can see your progress immediately with no color shifting anticipated down the road. Pastel is easy to work with because you don't have to wait between layers; you can start, work and finish spontaneously; and this medium can be fairly portable as long as you limit the number of pastel sticks you take with you for plein air excursions. There are many fine easels, pastel boxes and other necessary equipment available for pastel artists should you decide you want to take your work out of the studio.

Another question I am often asked is in regards to the permanence of pastel paintings. Actually, pastel is the most stable of all art media if it is painted or sketched on an archival ground and framed correctly using the necessary archival products and proper techniques. This is where it pays to go to a knowledgeable/professional framer to ask for assistance and get the job done right.

Just a few days ago I overheard an untrained worker in a frame shop tell someone it was perfectly alright for a pastel piece to be placed directly against the glass. As a professional pastel artist I would never do this as the pastel needs a place for the powdered dust to fall off. This can be achieved by use of a spacer, double matting or something similar that a framer that knows the special needs of the medium should be able to advise you on. Ask questions in advance so that you won't be disappointed in your pastel piece later.

Finally I would like to point out that pastel is not chalk and pastel sticks don't create only light, airy colored paintings. I often hear, "I didn't know you could produce all these bright (or brilliant, or bold) colors with pastels!" The pastels available from various makers truly come in every color imaginable and pastel artists, such as me, yearn to add each and every one of them to their collection.

In conclusion, whether you are an artist or art connoisseur why not give the wonderful old medium of pastel a new look? You will certainly be impressed.