Mediapedia

astels are simple to use, with no drying time, allowing the

artist to draw directly on the surface without any intermediate
tool or medium to degrade the freshness of the color. The colors are
brilliant, and a variety of techniques can create a wide range of effects,
from crisp lines to soft edges and feathery textures. The medium is very
forgivingmistakes can be easily lifted from the surface up to the
moment a fixative is applied.
Pastels are made from powdered pigments mixed with just enough
binder to be formed into sticks. Theyre dry and can be applied in a
linear manner, so you could say the artist draws with pastels. But because
they can also be applied in larger strokes and blended on
the surface, its also accurate to say an artist paints with
pastels. The fine, powdery surface of a pastel painting
refracts the light to give it a sparkling quality.
Powdered pigments have been used since
prehistoric times, but pastels as we know
them date from the late 17th century.
Pastels became very popular in the late 1800s
as Manet, Degas, Renoir and ToulouseLautrec used them. Degas in particular
explored the potentials of pastels
by combining them with other
media and pioneering the use
of fixatives.
Pastels can be purchased in
sets, some in handsome wooden
boxes, or individually in open
stock. There are dozens of
different manufacturers of pastels,
including boutique brands that
make pastels by hand from the
finest pigments.

By Greg Albert

What is
Mediapedia?
Mediapedia is an encyclopedia of art
media. The Artists Magazine is profiling a different medium in each issue
this year. Next up: oils.

Firm pastels such as

Prismacolor Nupastels
hold a point well and
are especially good for
preliminary drawings.

October 2009 n www.artistsmagazine.com

n Greg Albert, author of The Simple Secret

to Better Painting (North Light Books), lives
in Cincinnati, Ohio. To order his book, go to
www.northlightshop.com.

67

You can download past Mediapedia articles in our shop at www.northlightshop.

com/category/artists-magazine.

Chemistry
Soft pastels, such as these by Terry
Ludwig, are easy to blend and
have a rich color and
velvety texture.

Must-have tools

Tips and
Techniques

Drawing board and clips: A rigid surface is a must when working on paper.
Boxes for the pastels: Working with loose, disorganized pastels is inefficient
and frustrating. Get into the habit of limiting the number of loose sticks in your
work area. Storage boxes will keep your pastels organized while you work and
assist in inventory control.
n Kneaded erasers: Use these for blending as well as for removing pastel from
the surface.
n Blending tools: Try various tools, such as paper stumps (also called
torchons or tortillons), cotton swabs, facial tissue and paper towels.
n Razor blade and craft knife: Use these to sharpen hard pastels to
a point and to scrape off unwanted deposits of pastel from your work
surface.
n Tracing paper: This is useful to protect your work from smudging as
you paint.
n Protective gear: Dust masks, gloves or protective hand cream are
advisable.
n Wet wipes: These are handy to clean up the pastel dust that didnt
make it to the work surface.
n Fixative: Workable fixative protects your work from smearing
but leaves it open for reworking; permanent fixative protects it from
damage and seals it from further alteration.

Pastel techniques are similar to drawing and painting techniques. Try the
techniques listed at the right with
pastels of different brands and
degrees of hardnesseach will create
a slightly different result.

www.artistsmagazine.com

October 2009

68

Pastels are made from finely ground pigment mixed with chalk or clay
and a binder, such as gum arabic or gum tragacanth, and formed
into a stick. Their colors cant be mixed on a palette like paint, but
must be mixed on the drawing surface by blending, layering or
using other techniques such as scumbling (see opposite page).
Pastels vary in hardness by manufacturer. Hard pastels have
more binder than the softer pastels, and their colors may not
be as vivid. Hard pastels are good for preliminary drawing in
particular because they can hold a point and create crisp lines
and details. Softer pastels contain less binder and more pigment, a ratio that gives them a rich color and velvety texture.
Theyre easier to blend and smudge than hard pastels, but
soft pastels are more delicate, are easily broken and create
more dust. The hardness of the pastel will affect the results
of the techniques you use.
Some of the most popular brands of pastel include
Girault (soft), Great American (soft), PanPastels (soft),
Prismacolor Nupastel (hard), Rembrandt soft pastels
(medium), Schmincke soft artists pastels (soft), Sennelier
(soft), Terry Ludwig (soft), Unison handmade pastels (soft),
and Winsor & Newton soft pastels (medium).

Safety and Cleanup

The downside to the soft consistency of pastels is the increased possibility of
accidentally ingesting the pigments. Although most pastels have an AP nontoxic label, some have the CL (Caution Label) seal indicating theyre toxic or
hazardous if not used with appropriate caution.
Because pastels have so little binder, they easily generate dust thats hard
to contain, and you should take care not to breathe it in. Dont blow loose
powder off the surface as you workyou risk inhaling it. Instead, tap
the work over a waste bin to remove dust, and after each painting
session, wipe down your work area with a wet paper towel; use
a wet mop or a vacuum with a HEPA filter to pick up any residue that has fallen to the floor. If you work close to the
paper, consider wearing a dust mask.
Blending pastels with the fingers is also a natural
impulse. Its highly recommended to use gloves or a
protective hand creamsuch as Winsor & Newton
Artguard barrier cream, EZ Air Invisible Care, Invisible
Glove or Marvelous Mariannes SkinSafer barrier cream.
The usual precautions should be observed scrupulously with pastels: Keep food and drink away from your
work area and never smoke while you work. Wash your
hands thoroughly with soap and water after using pastels.

directly on the surface. You can create

different effects and textures by how
much or how little you mix the colors.
You can blend with your fingertips,
but the risk of ingesting the pigments
warrants using protection. Also, a pastel
surface can be rough enough that using
your fingers can lead to bleeding. Other
tools include paper stumps, kneaded
erasers and cotton swabs for precise
work; facial tissues, paper towels, cotton balls and small, soft natural sponges
for larger, less precise work. Soft brushes
are good, if they dont stir up dust.
Hatching and cross-hatching:
Hatching is drawing fine, closely
spaced parallel lines to create an area of
color and value; cross-hatching is drawing similar lines perpendicular to the
first. This technique works best with
harder pastels or pastel pencils and is
useful to create texture or to allow the

eye to create an optical blend when

different colors are used. You can create a sense of form and shape by varying
the direction of the cross-hatching.
Scumbling: Scumbling with pastels is very similar to scumbling
with paint. You apply a broken layer of
color on top of another layer of color,
allowing the bottom color to remain
visible. This technique works best on a
textured surface and with soft pastel
applied over hard. Try fixing the bottom
layer before applying the top layer.
Working on a colored ground:
Apply pastels to a colored surface
such as toned paper or a board, panel or
canvas painted with a colored ground
or pastel primer. Allowing the colored
ground to peek through creates vibrant
color. Many pastel artists use an underpainting of watercolor or pastel to tone
a piece of white pastel paper.

October 2009 n www.artistsmagazine.com

Drawing with the tip of the

pastel: Holding the pastel stick
like a pencil produces lines of varying
width and character depending on the
hardness of the pastel and the pressure
and speed of the hand.
Drawing with the side of the
pastel: Using the side of the
pastel stick produces broad strokes or
blocks of color. The character of the
stroke depends on the softness of the
pastel, the shape of the stick, the texture of the drawing surface, and the
pressure and speed of your hand. Breaking a stick in half may be necessary for
a more manageable stroke. This technique works best with softer pastels.
Blending with pastels: Unlike
paint, pastel colors cant be
mixed before being applied to the drawing surfaceyou must select a stick of
the appropriate color or blend colors

Colorfix PanPastels are relatively new. The

soft pastels, which come in small trays, are
applied with soft foam tools in a
process similar to painting.

69

FAQs

Soft pastels, such as these by Girault,

are easier to smudge, but matting
your work behind glass will help
protect it.

Are pastels a permanent medium?

Pastel is a fragile medium. Once properly fixed and appropriately framed, pastels
will remain as applied. As long as you use highquality cotton or linen rag paper, pastels wont crack,
crumble or disintegrate. The lightfastness of pastels is
almost completely determined by the pigments used;
as with most artwork, prolonged exposure to direct
sunlight should be avoided.

How many pastel colors do I need?

A common mistake beginners make is buying too many
How do you properly fix a pastel painting?
colors. Limit your selection to a range of warm and
Unless sprayed with a protective artists fixative, pastel cool colors from each of the primary and secondary
artwork is subject to smudging and smearing, particu- hues, plus a few earth colors, neutrals or grays, black
larly if you use softer pastels. Using workable fixative and several sticks of white. You can augment your colprotects your work from smearing but leaves it open lection with extra colors as needed. About 30 sticks is
for reworking; a permanent fixative protects it from a suitable number for a beginners pastel box. As you
damage and seals it from further alteration.
develop a style, youll determine quickly which colors
Some pastel artists find that fixatives darken you use most.
their paintings; some new fixatives are addressing this
problem with good results.
Can I clean my pastel sticks?
Matting and framing your work behind glass is the The fastest way to clean a pastel stick is to wipe it with
best way to keep it pristine. To store your pastel works, a paper towel. Or you can shake pastels gently in a lidkeep them flat in boxes or a flat file with sheets of ded container of cornmeal or uncooked rice to remove
glassine between the drawings to minimize smearing.
unwanted color.

www.artistsmagazine.com

October 2009

Surfaces for Pastels

70

From left to right, you can see the effect of

a soft pastel used on Strathmore watercolor paper, Strathmore charcoal paper,
Mi-Teintes pastel paper and Colourfix coated
pastel paper.

The most important consideration when selecting a surface for pastel work
is the surfaces tooththe ability of its texture to grab and hold the pastel
particles. A slick or smooth surface has little to no tooth and wont hold the
pastel. On the other hand, a very rough surface may not allow the pastel to
cover completely. Much depends on your personal preferences.
Most papers suitable for charcoal work well for pastels because they
have a sufficient tooth. Popular papers include Canson Mi-Teintes, Canson
Ingres, Strathmore 500 Series and Fabriano Tiziano.
There are several papers made especially for pastel, such as Hahnemhle Velour and Bugra, Amalfi handmade and Sennelier Papier Carr.
Some papers have coatings containing very fine particles to hold the
pastel, such as Wallis sanded pastel paper, Art Spectrum Colourfix coated
pastel paper and Supertooth board, Sennelier La Carte pastel card
and Ampersand Pastelbord.
Finally, you can apply primers and grounds
to paper, board or canvas panels to make them
receptive to pastel. Try Art Spectrum pastel
and multimedia primer, Golden pastel ground
or Lascaux pastel ground.