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How They’re Made...
Pastels are made from the same pigments used for oil
paints. Instead of oils, a
binding agent is added to the pigments to
create a chalk like stick, which is applied
to a textured surface, usually paper.
Available in many vibrant colors, pastels maintain
their just painted look indefinitely,
unlike oils, which can crack and darken over time.
“It’s an unfamiliar medium to a number of
people, and I ’d like to do my part to help change that,” says Sierak.
Pastel paintings and sketches are created by stroking the sticks of dry pigment
across the abrasive surface, embedding
the color in the “tooth” of the paper, sand board or canvas. If the surface is
completely covered with Pastel, the work is considered a Pastel painting;
leaving much of the surface exposed produces a Pastel sketch.
Techniques vary with individual artists.
Pastel can be blended or used with visible
strokes. There is no drying time, and no
allowances need to be made for a change in color when dry, unlike oil paint or
acrylics.
A Brief History...
Pastels originated
in the16th century and still exist today, as fresh as the day
they were painted, no restoration needed,
ever! “Pastels” does not at all refer to pale colors, as is commonly thought,
but comes from the French word “pastische”
because the pure, powdered pigment is
ground into a paste, with a small amount of
gum binder, and then rolled into sticks.
The infinite variety of colors in the Pastel palette
range from soft and subtle to bold and
brilliant.
Its invention is attributed to the German painter Johann Thiele. A venetian
woman artist, Rosalba Carriera,
was the first to make consistent use of Pastel. Chardin did
portraits with an open stroke, while
LaTour preferred the blended finish. Thereafter a
galaxy of famous artists . . . Copley,
Delacroix, Millet, Manet, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec,
Whistler, Hassam, just to list the more
familiar names, used Pastel as finished work
rather than preliminary sketches.
Edgar Degas was the most prolific user of Pastel, and its champion. His
protégé, Mary Cassatt introduced
the Impressionists and Pastel to her friends in Philadelphia
and Washington, and thus to the United
States. In the spring of 1983, Sotheby Parke
Bernet sold at auction two Degas Pastels
for more than $3,000,000 each! Both Pastels
were painted about 1880. Today, Pastel
paintings have the stature of oil and watercolor as a major fine art medium.
Many of our most renowned living artists have distinguished themselves with
Pastels.
Note: Pastels used in fine art should never be confused with colored chalk.
Chalk is a limestone substance impregnated with
dyes. Pastel is sometimes combined with
watercolor, gouache, acrylic, charcoal or pencil to create a "mixed medium"
painting.
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