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Subject: need guidance in using soft pastels...

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liquid_diamonds
Posts:2

05/14/2008 6:11 AM	Alert
This is the first time i`ve used soft pastels,its a portrait of my colleagues`s daughter.....i faced 2 problems when i finished this portrait,firstly i bought 2 Canson pastel sheets,joined them together with uhu tube and no matter how much i blend the pastels,the line joining the 2 pastel sheets still showed.How do professional artists make huge pastel art work without the show of the pastel sheets joined together,i wonder.Secondly i sprayed Simbolian`s fixative on it after i finished the portrait in the night and thought that in the morning it would dry off and if i would touch it,it wont spread or smudge,but to my horror it did!!!is there any good fixative that if i use it,it wont smudge right away.....

mrking

Posts:21

05/14/2008 8:38 AM	Alert
For larger work you can buy rolls of canson or you can use matte board. This line will always show up. Oh, I should also mention that using UHU pretty much destroys any life you will get out of the painting. I am sure the UHU will discolour the paper over time. No fixative prevents smudging if you touch it. It just binds the looser pastel so it won't fall off easily. Most pastelist do not use fixative as there really is no need and it just darkens all the values. Frame it under glass and there won't be an issue. Hope this helps.

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BarryKeller

Posts:54

05/14/2008 12:11 PM	Alert
You need to plan the seams so they don't cut across the main focal point. If you look at Degas' pastel pieces, he joined many smaller pieces of paper together to form his paintings. He didn't do this to make a larger painting, rather as he worked on a piece he might see a how it fit into a larger setting and would paste on other pieces to make room for the new larger art he now saw in his vision. If you are not looking for the seams, or are not looking at the originals, you don't notice them, though they are actually quite visible. As for fixative, it is possible to use enough to keep the pastels from smearing (you have to spray it on pretty heavy though and more than once), but as mrking says, you should never really use fixative unless you are "fixing" an undercoat. The top layer of pastels should not be fixed unless really necessary as all fixative will 1) discolor over time, 2) darken all colors, 3) blow the lightest applied pastel right off of the paper (bye bye all that work!), and 4) alter the texture and grain of the pastel into something I think of as unsightly. Given all of this, I never spray unless I absolutely have to do it. The best thing to do is frame under glass any pastel piece as soon as it is completed. If you can't do that, I have found that covering a pastel painting with wax paper will protect the artwork for months prior to framing. I go to Aaron Brothers when they have their 1 cent sale and stock up on $25-$45 frames, so that I always have something in which to place a new pastel piece. I also cut my own mats so that the artwork is always kept away from the glass. -Barry

liquid_diamonds
Posts:2

05/18/2008 2:16 PM	Alert
thx mrking and Barry for taking out your time and answering my question,tht really helped me.....thx a lot!!!!

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