PASTELS
Pastel is pure pigment, the same pigment used in making all fine art paints. All top quality pastel brands are permanent when applied to conservation ground and properly framed.
An artwork is created by stroking the sticks of dry pigment
across the abrasive ground, embedding
the colour in the "tooth" of the paper, sandboard, canvas, etc.
If the ground is completely covered with pastel, the work is considered a pastel painting; a work with much of the ground left exposed is called a pastel sketch or drawing.
Like colour sticks, pastels are ideal for large-scale work and suited to a free use of colour.
Pastels come in hard pastels, soft pastels, oil pastels, pastel pencils and water soluble pastels. Each type needs a different approach.
Soft pastels need a built up of the colours, blended and overlaid to obtain the right tone and colour. They are in fact very similar to paint.
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