What is pastel art?

Pastel art is work created primarily with pastels. Some pastel paintings begin with an underpainting done in acrylics, oil or watercolors. But a high percentage of the piece is done with layers of soft pastel (as opposed to oil pastels). Soft pastels consist of pure color pigments formed into sticks with a binder, usually gum tragacanth. The word pastel comes from the French word “pastiche” meaning paste since pigments are mixed with water and binder, rolled into sticks and dried.

The quality of color pigments used in pastels is the same as pigments used in oils and watercolors. The main difference is the binder used to hold the pigments together. There is a misconception that pastels are not vivid in color because the word pastel also refers to pale colors. In fact pastel sticks range in hue, value and intensity from the palest tints to the richest and darkest shades. That, in a nutshell, is what makes pastels so much fun to use. I work with over 500 different pastels organized loosely by hue (color) and value (from dark to light). It is a great joy to search for just the right pastel in any given moment of the painting process. As they are selected and stroked on the surface, if they work you say “yes” and add it to the palette collection for that painting. I have learned that limiting my pallette is better than always choosing more and more pastels since this practice typically results in a more harmonious painting.

Hard pastels are similar to soft pastels but are harder and denser due to the greater amount of binder. They are typically square edged and rectangular, and are useful at the early drawing stage of the pastel painting. Oil pastels use oil to bind color pigments together, and quite different than either soft or hard pastels. The oil helps stick the pigment to a surface, unlike soft and hard pastels that require surfaces with a tooth.

Is pastel a drawing or painting medium?

Both. Pastels can be used as a drawing medium where the end result is a sketch that involves very little layering of colors. Or pastels can be used as a painting medium with multiple layers of colors. In practice a pastel painting often begins as a drawing and quickly evolves into a painting as big shapes are created, and layers of color are applied.

How should you frame a pastel?

I would recommend using a professional framer who knows how to frame pastel paintings. However, choices need to be made regarding use of mats, frame character, and glass.

First, should you use a mat around the pastel? If you choose to use a mat, separate the mat and the pastel with a spacer to create a gap that allows pastel flecks to fall behind the mat thus avoiding its staining. If you choose to not use a mat, separate the pastel and glass by a spacer (see discussion below).

I prefer to not use mats because I like my pastel art to look like traditional paintings. According to one fine art framer in Portland, mats were originally used to frame photographs, not paintings.

A second choice deals with frames. Personally I prefer wood frames. I like the way wood frames look and feel. My cityscapes tend to be framed with a clean contemporary design that doesn’t compete with the painting. If the cityscape is historic in character, I may use a more traditional design. My landscapes are typically framed with a traditional design, either warm gold or warm silver in color, and sometimes with an outer black border. But if one of my clients has preferences for a particular frame style, we would collaborate on the frame selection using my collection of samples in my studio. Some of my paintings are sold framed and some are not.

Finally, what kind of glass should be used? All pastels must be framed under glass to protect the painting from being smudged. Pastel art is separated from the glass to avoid condensation and mold, and to prevent the pastel from rubbing onto the glass. If mats are used, the mat is separated from the pastel with cardboard spacers. If no mat is used, the glass is separated from the pastel by using plastic spacers attached directly to the glass. FrameTek of Eugene, OR sells good quality plastic spacers and provides excellent tech support.

Glass choices and relative costs range as follows:
• Basic clear glass
• With UV protection (2 times the price of basic glass)
• With anti reflective qualities (8 times the price…)
• With UV protection and anti reflective qualities i.e. museum glass (12 times the price…)

I recommend use of good quality anti-reflective glass (like Tru-Vue AR) because glare is dramatically reduced, making the pastel seem almost without glass. Always avoid locating pastels or any artwork in direct sunlight.

Should pastels be sprayed with fixatives?

The only time I use fixative is in the early stages of painting (to fix the underdrawing or to freeze a layer of pastel) and I never spray the final painting. Why? Fixative changes the quality of light reflectance on a pastel, coating micro-specks of pastel with plastic and deadening the luminosity of the painting. Fixative is notorious for darkening colors of pastel paintings. So, please remind your framer not to spray the pastel…it is not necessary. Before I frame my pastels I give them a good whack or two and that knocks off most of the loose bits. If the pastel is framed correctly, a few flecks shouldn't spoil the painting.