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Introduction to painting with pastels

October 31st, 2007 | by Art Supplies |

Pastels have been in use by artists for centuries. The use of pastels can be traced back to the time when men lived in caves. Although, the pastels in use today were not available at that time, the artist of that era had developed a predecessor of pastel from plants and animals to quench their thirst for art. With the passage of time new mediums of adding colors to the paintings have been introduced, yet pastels are still one of the most popular art supply sold by most art stores.

The pastels we commonly use today are made of pigments produced in laboratories. These pigments are mixed with a binder, usually methyl cellulose, to form a paste. This mixture is then rolled to give the shape of a pencil or a stick and allowed to dry. The binder used in pastels sets the pastels apart from other medium of coloring such as oil, watercolor etc. The most common binders in use are eggs, oil and gum Arabic. Although the amount used to bind the pigment is very nominal but it is an essential part of the process.

Although, Leonardo da Vinci has used pastels as part of his arts during the 15^th century,  it was not until 1675 when a painting was made exclusively of pastels. The pioneer in the field was Rosabella Carriera. Today, pastels can be easily found in the following four forms:

1. Pencil
2. Hard pastels
3. Soft pastels
4. Oil

Most of the artists usually use pastel pencils and hard pastels for preliminary drawing and for the purpose of adding details. These are usually used in producing the first layer of the painting due to the brightness and hardness of the pigments in this form. Also, if the artist wants to go back in to add a bit more detail to the lines of the painting, he is going to use hard pastel or pastel pencil. However, extensive use of hard pastel can result in lifting of the soft pastel from the layers.

The soft pastels are available in different price range. The price of this pastel depends entirely on the softness of the pastel. This is due to the reason that softer pastels have more pigment in them, thus contributing to the high price of the product. And if you are using pastels in oil form then you will realize that they will have an entirely different effect then any other forms of pastel, bringing a unique look to your painting.

However, you must keep in mind that you will need to use a paper that has some tooth to its name. This type of paper is preferred for pastel painting as it helps in holding the pastels to the paper surface. There is a wide variety of papers available in the stores that are made solely for use of pastel painting. The price ranges from $1 to as high as $20 per sheet.

A finished art piece of a pastel painting is always in high demand as it produces shimmering effect of light through layers after layers of efforts put in by the artist to bring the right effect to the painting.