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Bright sunlight is a pastel from my cow/calf series that I am creating for an author that has written a book about grazing cattle. The curious calf squinting in the intense sunlight standing next to his sedate mother chewing her cud made an interesting juxtaposition. Creating pastel paintings has created some question, however. Are you willing to share your knowledge with others who are reading my blog and me some tips on working with pastels?

In an earlier blog, I told you about my workshop instructor 20+ years ago that refused to demonstrate. During that week, I copied some of his paintings from out of a book that I had purchased that featured his artwork to try and understand his techniques.  Networking with that huge class of professional artists who had come to learn was really helpful for me. They shared lots of tips, and I asked many of questions.

Looking online for answers about using pastels doesn’t seem to help, because I am having a hard time finding the answers that I seek. I have purchased several books on using pastels, but can’t find the answers I want there, either. Can you help me out?

Long ago, when I first started painting, I started with watercolors. We didn’t have very much money at that time, so I bought cheap, student-grade paper. I had checked out “how-to” art books from the library and copied the paintings in the books. Or I should say that I tried to copy the paintings in the books. I tried and tried but no matter what, my painted did not look like the pictures of the paintings in the books. It was so frustrating! The color would puddle in the little dimples on the surface of the watercolor paper, and not create the even or graded washes that the books illustrated. Then, I started paying attention to the types of paper was used for the different paintings that were illustrated…hot press….cold press…. 75 pound….. 300 pound. These strange terms were like Greek to me, but I researched and learned. I broke down and bought a few large sheets of some of the various types of professional paper to compare. Cutting the paper up into small sizes, [5x 7 and 8x10], gave me lots of surfaces to work on, front and back. IT WORKED! The watercolors started behaving themselves. The correct paper made all the difference in the world.

Why am I talking about watercolor paper when I initially asked for help with pastels? After the watercolor paper dilemma, I thought that if I wanted to start creating with pastels, I would start out with great pastel paper. Researching online let me find and try several several different types of pastel papers. So far, Wallis Belgium Mist paper seems to work the best for me. The skin on my finger gets sore sometimes from blending on the rough surface. I have tried using different things with which to blend…. what do you use? Being able to put multiple layers of colors on the sheets is wonderful. Since I have layered colors on my other work for years, this is a familiar technique. I like using different types of pastel sticks, from hard to buttery soft.   The softer pastels are great for spreading large areas of color. Pastel pencils work best for creating details, and they create less dust, so they are easier on my asthma.

What are your favorite brands of pastel colors, and why do you like them? How do you frame very large pastel paintings, for instance, an 18x24? Do you have to use glass? Can Lucite be used as a substitute? Some artists put pastels on oil or acrylic paintings so does that mean that these would have to be framed under glass, or would a fixative be enough?

Several pastel paintings are on my website as you have probably noticed. My children’s book, The Peculiar Platypus, was created using pastel paintings. Its images are stored in glassine envelopes to prevent them from damage, and are laid flat.

Creating my painting, Bull’s Eye, was fun because a new technique was used, new for me, that is. Can you tell what it I did differently from my other pastel paintings [and I don’t me the extreme colors]?

Last but not least, I have learned that like other works of art, pastel paintings should be kept out of bright sunlight.