Pastel painting technique on paper Automatic translate

Pastel occupies a unique position among artistic media, combining the properties of both drawing and painting. This medium consists of pure pigment with a minimal amount of binder, providing a brightness and saturation of color unattainable by other techniques. Working with pastel on paper requires specific knowledge of materials, surfaces, and application methods.

Composition and production of pastel crayons

Pastel chalks are made from finely ground pigment, white filler, and a binder. The base is powdered pigment, to which an inert white filler — calcium carbonate or kaolin — is added. The binder is present in a minimal amount, just enough to hold the particles together.

Traditionally, gum arabic or gum tragacanth are used as a binder. Since the mid-20th century, manufacturers have begun using methylcellulose, which provides a more stable consistency. The ratio of the components determines the hardness of the chalk: less binder produces a softer pastel with intense color, while more binder produces a harder pastel suitable for detailed elaboration.

When making hand-made crayons, gum tragacanth is mixed with water at a ratio of 1:30, creating a gel-like mass. This substance is added to the pigment, forming a paste-like consistency, which is then rolled into sticks and dried for 24-48 hours. Different pigments require different amounts of binder, so each manufacturer develops its own formula.

The chalks must be firm enough to be gripped by fingers, yet crumble when touched. This fragile structure provides the characteristic velvety quality of pastel works.

Types of pastels

Soft pastels contain the maximum amount of pigment and a minimum of binder, creating rich, luminous colors. They are easy to apply and blend, but require setting. Hard pastels contain more binder, allowing for precise lines and fine details without significant fallout.

Oil pastels have a fundamentally different composition — the pigments are bound with oil or wax, rather than water-soluble gum. This material creates a denser texture and doesn’t require fixation, but it’s less vibrant than dry pastels.

Pastel paper

The choice of support is critical to the success of the work, as pastel adheres to the surface solely mechanically — the pigment particles become trapped in the texture of the paper. The surface must have sufficient "grain" or "tooth" to capture and retain the powder.

Surface characteristics

The paper’s grain determines how many layers of pastel can be applied. Smooth paper with a low tooth accepts fewer layers, making it difficult to correct mistakes and layer colors. These surfaces are suitable for finely detailed works and hyperrealistic images.

Paper with a high, coarse tooth allows for multiple layers. As the texture is filled with pastel, the surface gradually smooths out, allowing for fine, delicate strokes to be applied in the upper layers over the rough base.

Types of papers

Traditional pastel paper has a distinct texture, often created during the manufacturing process. Velvet paper is covered with short fibers, creating a velvety surface that holds a large amount of pigment. Sandpaper for pastels has an abrasive surface that scrapes pigment from the chalk, creating a dense coating.

Watercolor paper is successfully used for pastel painting due to its durable texture. Its rough surface holds pigment well and withstands intensive work. Canvas, cardboard, and wood panels can also serve as a support with the appropriate preparation.

Base color

During the Renaissance, northern Italian draughtsmen popularized blue paper dyed with natural pigments. Its rough texture held pigments, and the color served as a middle tone from which artists built chromatic contrasts, highlights, and shadows.

In the 18th century, artists invariably used blue or gray paper due to the slightly rough texture of such painted sheets. James McNeill Whistler favored brown paper of varying quality, from the finest sheets to coarse wrapping paper. The brown provided midtones, and the artist added highlights with pastel and shadows with black chalk.

Contemporary artists work on paper in a variety of shades. A colored base saves time by providing a ready-made midtone and enhances the visual impact of the work. The contrast between bright pigments and tinted paper adds further expressiveness to the composition.

Techniques for applying and working with pastels

Pastel is applied by directly touching the crayon to the paper, using the side for broad strokes or the tip for lines and details. Each tone requires a separate crayon, as pastel, unlike oil paints, cannot be mixed on the palette. Artists use hundreds of different hues of crayon to create tonal complexity.

Hatching and directional strokes

Parallel hatching creates tone and texture without blending. Cross-hatching, where lines overlap at different angles, enhances saturation and creates an optical blending of colors. This technique preserves the purity of individual colors, allowing them to interact visually.

Blending with short, directional strokes builds up layers of color and texture. This technique is especially effective for depicting fur, hair, and other textured surfaces. Varying the length and direction of the strokes creates a natural, realistic look.

Shading

Finger blending is the most intuitive way to soften the transitions between colors. The skin’s natural oils help smooth the pigments, creating a soft, even gradient. However, this method transfers oils to the paper, potentially affecting the durability of the work.

Blending tools — paper blending pads, suede pads, and soft brushes — provide control without direct skin contact. Each tool creates varying degrees of softening and blending. Excess pigment is removed with a soft brush or blown off.

Scambling

Scambling involves lightly dragging pastel over an existing layer, allowing the underlying color to show through. This creates a textured, broken-color effect that adds visual interest and depth. The technique requires a light touch and experimentation with different color combinations.

Multilayered

Layering is a fundamental technique in pastel painting, allowing for the creation of complex color relationships and depth. Light colors easily overlap dark ones, which is one of the advantages of pastel. However, as the paper’s surface becomes filled with pigment, its ability to accept new layers diminishes.

Edgar Degas developed a method of successive layering, applying fixative between each layer. This allowed him to work without smudging colors and create transparencies and contrasts by applying multiple layers. Conventional fixatives altered tones, so the artist experimented with his own compositions.

Degas’s watercolor and pastel work features a combination of contrasting yet harmonious techniques. To depict a textured wall covering, he combined rough brushstrokes of powdered pastel with fluid lines of watercolor. First, vertical strokes of purple-red watercolor and light brown washes were applied, then blotchy horizontal marks of blue-green and red-orange pastel were applied over the watercolor strokes.

Fixation and stabilization

Fixing pastels remains one of the most challenging areas of the technique. Fixative is a liquid solution sprayed onto the surface to bind pigments. The main problem is the darkening of the pastel when using fixative.

Fixation problems

If light colors are applied over dark ones, applying a fixative can cause the dark layer to bleed through, reducing the brightness of the light layer. This contradicts one of the advantages of pastels — the ability to apply light over dark without mixing.

Even the best fixatives alter the pastel’s tonalities, robbing them of their softness and subtlety. The fixative forms an impenetrable film, but the pastel pigments adhere tenaciously to the resin and are therefore prone to peeling from the support.

Application of fixative

Despite its drawbacks, fixative can be useful in certain situations. It prevents blending when a new layer of a contrasting color needs to be applied. Localized application of fixative to specific areas allows for changes to be made without unwanted color blending.

Shake the can of fixative thoroughly, then test spray it on another surface. Some artists recommend laying the work horizontally and spraying a light "cloud" of fixative over it, allowing the particles to gently settle onto the surface. To fixate a specific area, cut out a stencil to protect the remaining pieces.

Artist and educator Alan Flatman, who uses fixative in every piece, states, "Fixative is just another tool. You should use all the tools available to create the desired effect."

Achieving dark tones

Achieving truly deep dark tones in pastel presents a technical challenge. The powdery nature of the material and the reflection of light from the many facets of the finely ground powder create optical brilliance. This quality, while providing pastel’s characteristic radiance, also makes it difficult to create rich dark areas.

Artists use several approaches. Applying multiple layers of dark pastel gradually deepens the tone. Using a black or dark underlay, allowing it to show through, creates the impression of depth. Some artists combine pastel with other media — charcoal, ink, watercolor — to achieve intense dark areas.

Historical development of technology

Although the earliest works using pastels were created in Renaissance Italy, pastel painting itself dates back to the 17th century. During the Renaissance, pastels were used sparingly, adding highlights or color to drawings typically done with natural chalk.

Leonardo da Vinci first mentioned pastel in 1495, documenting his recipe for making it. In the 16th and 17th centuries, pastel was used more widely. French artists such as Robert Nanteuil (1623-1678) applied it more liberally over larger areas, not limiting themselves to finishing touches.

The 18th century is the golden age of pastels.

By the 18th century, color, not line, had become dominant, and pastel’s aesthetic approach to painting was at odds with its status. The status of pastel has been debated at length: in 1684, Roger de Piles described it as a form of painting, albeit lacking the vitality of oil paintings; in 1690, André Félibien characterized pastel as a drawing technique that produces the same effect as painting, but is not related to painting.

Maurice Quentin de La Tour (1704-1788), perhaps the most celebrated pastellist of the 18th century, created lively preparatory studies for finished portraits. Unlike oil, which can be mixed on a palette of nine to ten primary pigments, each tone requires a separate pastel chalk, and artists used hundreds of them.

Latour abandoned oil painting in favor of pastel — colored powder applied to paper, parchment, vellum, or silk, requiring protection from any contact. This technique was popularized by the Venetian Rosalba Carriera during her visit to Paris in 1720. Carriera used primed canvas and paper, seeking to achieve a more stable surface and enhance the color intensity.

Jean-Étienne Liotard also experimented with applying pastel to materials other than paper — canvas and wood panels — to create smooth painting surfaces. Before the introduction of laid paper in 1756, supports varied in quality. They had to be strong enough to withstand the treatment required to create the necessary surface texture to hold the powders.

Since the late 18th century, artists have experimented with unusual supports — from commercially primed canvas to silk and sheets of parchment, often bonded together as large formats of these materials were unavailable. These supports did not hold pigments and required the use of fixatives for stabilization — liquid solutions that ultimately dulled the vibrancy of the colors.

Jean-Baptiste Perronneau, a sensitive artist open to exploration and considered a rival by La Tour, also achieved outstanding mastery. The highlights visible in the works of both artists mark a formal trend in pastel portraiture dating from around 1753, when both began leaving certain colors unmixed. These portraits were intended to be viewed from a distance, appearing most lifelike from across the room.

Latour’s Method

Latour’s technique evolved slightly, becoming more or less nuanced depending on the period. A key element of his method was preparing the portrait through quick pastel sketches, usually in series, designed to find the framing and lighting that best highlight the sitter’s assets. The series of preparatory works for the portrait of Madame de Pompadour demonstrates impressive mastery.

Latour attempted to fix pastel to make it as durable as oil. Fixing pastel with varnishes or resins always compromised the "bloom" of the pastel — the matte surface that captures the light. His meticulous perfectionism led to damage to some of his portraits.

Storage and preservation

Pastel works are constantly at risk of smudging, as the pigment is held to the surface only mechanically. Fixative dulls the colors, so many artists avoid using it, preferring to protect their work physically.

Storage methods

The optimal way to store pastel works on paper is between sheets of acid-free foam board. Place the pastel work on the bottom sheet of foam board, which is approximately 2.5 cm larger on each side. Place a sheet of glasin — an archival, museum-quality barrier paper that does not attract loose pastel particles — on top of it.

Next, place another sheet of acid-free foam board, the same size as the bottom one, on top of the pastel. Attach the top sheet to the bottom sheet with archival tape on each side. This creates a protective "sandwich," preventing any contact with the surface.

For the longevity of the work, using acid-free materials is critical. Masking tape and cardboard release acids over time, causing deterioration through yellowing and discoloration. Archival materials ensure the preservation of the pastel work until it is framed.

Framing

When framing a pastel work, it’s essential to leave an air space between the surface and the glass. A passe-partout of sufficient thickness prevents the pigment from coming into contact with the glass. Some conservators recommend using spacers to increase the distance between the work and the glass.

Anti-reflective glass may seem like an attractive option, but its matte surface is on the inside, facing the artwork. If accidentally touched, pastel particles will stick to this textured surface, damaging the work. Regular clear glass or museum glass is preferable.

Contemporary pastel painting

Pastel technique experienced a revival in the late 19th century. Impressionists and Post-Impressionists appreciated its ability to convey light and atmosphere. Edgar Degas systematically explored the potential of the medium, developing innovative methods of layering and fixation.

Contemporary pastel artists continue to push technical boundaries. The development of new types of paper with varying textures and characteristics offers artists a wider choice of surfaces. Synthetic pigments have expanded the color palette, incorporating shades unavailable to historical masters.

Sandpaper for pastels, introduced in the 20th century, revolutionized the medium’s capabilities. Its abrasive surface scrapes large amounts of pigment from the chalk, allowing for the creation of dense, rich layers of color. This opened up new approaches, particularly for realistic painting, which requires subtle tonal transitions.

Combined techniques

Pastels are often combined with other media to achieve specific effects. Underpainting with watercolor or acrylic creates a colored base onto which the pastels are applied. This reduces working time and provides a stable foundation for subsequent layers.

Charcoal is used for the initial drawing and dark accents. Its deep black color complements the brightness of the pastel, creating a contrast between light and dark areas. However, charcoal can muddy the pure colors of the pastel, so care must be taken when combining the materials.

Some artists combine soft and oil pastels in a single work. Oil pastels are applied to create impenetrable barriers or dense textures, over which soft pastels are not applied — this creates a resist technique useful for preserving highlights or creating specific effects.

Pigments in pastels

Research into historical 19th-century pastel crayons has revealed that early commercial formulas varied significantly and remain poorly understood. An analysis of pastels used by Roberto Sebastian Matta in a 1974-1975 work revealed modern pigments and dyes: copper phthalocyanines, chrome orange, titanium dioxide, and zinc oxide, compacted with kaolin without an organic binder or with as little or no gum as possible.

Modern pastel chalks use a wide range of synthetic pigments alongside traditional mineral pigments. Each pigment has its own characteristics of lightfastness, opacity, and intensity. Professional manufacturers provide lightfastness ratings, helping artists select pigments for works intended for long-term exposure.

White pigments — titanium white, zinc white, and calcium carbonate — vary in opacity and texture. Titanium white provides maximum opacity, zinc white produces a more translucent effect, and calcium carbonate is used primarily as a filler to create lighter tones.