The FAQ of Pastels
Answers to your questions
 As you are painting with pastels, sometimes you have a question about using
pastels or about what to do in a certain part of your painting. This page is for all those
questions.
Please write your question to me: emma@paintingwithpastels.com and I'll answer
it as quickly as I can. I'll also post the question on this page for others to see.
Click on the question and the answer will be
revealed
+ How long do pastels keep when not used regularly? I have a few colors that I don't use that often and I found that some of them crumbled very easily, do they have a life span?
This is a tough one as it does depend on the quality of the pastel. A good quality pastel should last a very long time if stored correctly - this is because there is not much binder used and it's more pure pigment. Now getting to the storage. I prefer to store them in a flat, dark, lidded container with rice - this keeps them, not only clean, but separated and "cushioned".
The ones you have found crumbled, maybe you can re-make them -add one or two teaspoons of distilled water to the ground-up pastel, form into a paste and re-roll. This uses the binder already in the pastel - give it a try.
+ Should you take the paper off the pastel?
Basically the paper is around the pastel to protect it when it's being shipped either to you or the store where you purchase it. The pastel is marked with the brand and the color number.
When I get a pastel, the first thing I do is take the paper off and, if it is a full sized stick, break it in half. The side of the pastel can then be used for shading - scumbling, or dusting.
I also like to keep a record of the color number, so I have a pad where I write the number down and "paint" the color next to it. Before my stick gets used up I "paint" a piece of scrap and go down the colors till I find the match - I then know what number and brand to get to replace it.
+ What is the best method for the initial sketch before we paint? tracing sometimes doesn’t work as the pencil can be too black and using a grid can be difficult to erase.
There are two things I do for the inital sketch. I start with a very light pastel pencil for the rough outline. From there I use a mid-tone hard pastel or conte stick adjusting the rough outline as I go. It's then onto the pastels. If you're wanting to use a grid, then I'd probably opt for drawing up the grid on a hard plastic surface, securing it to the top of the painting board and lifting and dropping as I go.....maybe??? just a thought - would be interested to know if it worked.
+ What can I use to blend the pastels and is it o.k. to use my fingers - I've heard that the pastel can get into the skin?
You do run the risk of getting the pastel into the skin, however, good quality pastels now days, are made to be non-toxic so it is a bit of a moot point. Check the ingredients of your pastels to make sure.
I use disposable gloves a lot of the time and other artists use finger cots (just covering the fingers). It really is what you get used to.
You can also use:
• Pastel shapers
• Pastel brushes
• Q-tips or cotton buds
• Tortillons or paper stumps
• Cloth or chamois
• Kneaded Rubber
+ Because I'm not using a paint brush is pastel a drawing or painting medium?
You can use pastels for both, that's the beauty of them. That is, they are great for sketching or if you are putting many layers of color then they become a painting medium. Usually what starts out as a sketch soon becomes a painting! You don't need a paint brush in order to create a painting.
+ What do I use to get the fine detail?
There are a couple of different ways you can get the fine detail. The most common is to use pastel pencils, although bear in mind that these are not really "pastels" but they are easy to use.
Another way is to sharpen the end of a pastel and you can do this by either rubbing it with sandpaper or using a knife or razor blade.
Another great technique is to scrape back the pastel with a razor blade to expose the underpainting - assuming you have done an underpainting.
+ Should pastels be sprayed with fixatives?
I dont usually use fixative, however, there has been the occassion when I have used it in the early part of the painting. This is simply to "fix" that early layer or underpainting. There is a great debate about using fixatives - fixative does change the quality and color, it can also cause a deadening of the luminosity of the painting. If you don't use it tell your framer that you haven't and for them not to use it either. Once I've finished a painting I always give it a good whack on the back - this dislodges any loose pastel and it become fine for framing.
+ What is the difference between Pastel pencils and Colored pencils?
Pastel pencils are really just pastels encased in wood and shaped like a pencil - they have the dry powdery consistency of pastels and are very easy to smudge.
Coloured pencils on the other hand are more like ordinary pencils, they don't have the powdery dust and they don't smudge very well this is because they are wax or oil based.
If you have used coloured pencils when you use a pastel pencil you will certainly feel and see the difference.
+ What surfaces can you use to paint on?
Traditionally pastels have been painted on paper that has been properly prepared for pastel work. There are many different kinds and grades of these papers and they can be hand made or machine made. The texture can also vary from smoother to really grainy it all depends on what you think is going to best convey what you are intending to paint.
In saying that, you can also use lots of other surfaces - plywood, chipboard, cardboard "kraft" wrapping paper, silk paper, canvas etc. What you do need to consider is the "tooth" - that means the grainy surface that is going to grab the pastel and keep it there.
You can also buy pre-pared pastel preparation paint that has the grain in it - or you can make your own.
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