Introduction to pastels part 1

TYPES OF PASTELS

Pastels are an extremely rich medium for creating stand-alone works as well as for mix-media techniques.

The multitude of forms and colors gives many possibilities for creation.

However, this medium requires special treatment during operation as well as proper storage.

The specificity of pastels is also related to the right substrate that will give them adhesion, but we will cover this topic in the next part of the pastel series, and now let's start by learning about the types of pastels.

We can mainly divide pastels into dry and oil pastels,but it is also worth mentioning water pastels, fabric pastels and PanPastels.

We have three forms of dry pastels available on the market:

– sticks

– crayons

– dust (PanPastels)

PASTELS IN STICK

Pastels in stick form are the most popular. They consist of clay or chalk to which a binder (usually tragant gum) and pigment are added. When mixed, a thick paste-like paste is formed, which, when dry, forms a stick.

Their shape can vary depending on the manufacturer and hardness: there are square sticks, oval sticks - resembling a candle crayon wrapped in paper, but there are also pastels that do not have this paper envelope.

The pastels in the stick vary in softness and in their pigmentation.

Miękkie pastele mają mało spoiwa, przez co są kruche i sypkie. Wspaniale nadają się do tworzenia tła, świetnie się blendują, rozcierają, tworzą malarski efekt (np.: pastele Sennelier).

Square pastels are already harder, they have more binder. They are suitable for certain details, since they can be gently stenciled, as well as for covering larger planes in a drawing (e.g.: pastels by Faber-Castell, Conte a Paris).

The difference in pigmentation lies in the addition of the proper proportions of chalk and pigment in the manufacturing process.

The more pigment the more intense the color, and the more chalk the more pastel the color.

Sennelier pastels do not have chalk in their composition, so the colors of these pastels are the most vivid and intense.

PASTELS IN PENCIL

Crayon pastels are most useful for drawing details, they are great for example: in realistic portraiture, in small magnifying drawings when highlighting details. This is the least dirty form of pastels, so the comfort of work is very pleasant.

Crayon pastels differ from sticks by their wooden surround, so they can be tempered.

Pigmentation and flowability varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.

The most popular crayons on the market are:

• Koh-I-Noor Gioconda
• Faber-Castell Pitt 
• Cretacolor 
• Derwent 
• Caran d’Ache 
• Stabilo Carbothello

The pastels that stand out the most in terms of pigmentation are Caran d'Ache.

Excellent opacity, well pigmented. They are suitable for highlighting highlights as well as the darkest areas in a drawing. They have a slightly thicker nib than the other crayons, but are the most brittle and breakable.

They are slightly fatter than the others making the line crisp and leaving a fairly sharp outline. Personally, I use this crayon more for the final effect or to cover certain areas. On the other hand, these are pastels at least white and black, which should be in the basic composition.

Pozostałe pastele mają zbliżoną miękkość i pigmentację. Ponieważ zostawiają mniej wyrazisty kontur, nadają się do tworzenia wszelkich partii gdzie potrzebujemy nadać miękkości w rysunku np.: rysując sierść czy włosy. Często zdarza mi się kreskę pasteli.

Caran d'Acha smooth out with a crayon from another company, so that the contour is smoothed out a bit, while leaving an intense highlight to make the effect as natural as possible.

PANPASTELS

An interesting form of pastels, placed in transparent round boxes. The most free-flowing form of pastels, which is applied with sponges. I personally use this form for making backgrounds. It is a well opaque pastel with high pigmentation, very fine. It requires layering to get the right effect of covering the paper. You can get very smooth transitions with it, as it blends very well. It beautifully creates an ombre effect, but also the background blur effect you see in photographs.

OIL PASTELS

In the composition of oil pastels we can find a binder in the form of oil or wax, clay and pigment. The binder makes the pastels dust-free when drawing and gives the drawing a "wet" effect. Depending on the proportion of wax, we can distinguish between oil and wax pastels. Pastels of this type are not tempered. They are sticks surrounded by paper, which protects our fingers from dirt, but can be easily removed if necessary.

Oil pastels can be both layered using the impasto technique and mixed colors, which gives the effect you get when painting with oil paints.

Interestingly, oil pastels can be treated after application with turpentine, or other solvents used for oil paints, when you want a more painterly background or drawing effect, as well as combined with oil paints.

As for drawing fur or hair, it is as possible. Then a technique called sgraffito is used, which in this case is based on scratching out previously applied layers of pastels.

Oil pastels work well on porous surfaces, cardboard, wood or cardboard, giving very interesting effects. They are characterized by high resistance to light. They have an intense color, so you can see a lot of expression in the drawings.

It is worth mentioning that oil pastels were extremely to the liking of Pablo Picasso, who, when he could not get them from Japan, persuaded the French manufacturer Sennelier to produce them. Thus, it can be said that the widespread availability of these pastels has appeared on the market in earnest since Sennelier produced them in 1949.

FABRIC PASTELS

This is a little-known form of fabric decoration, but certainly worthy of attention.

Pastels for fabric can be found in the offer of Pentel.

With them you can create original patterns and drawings on natural fabrics ie: linen, cotton, silk. The pastel is in a stick, but it has a paper protection, so we can avoid getting our hands dirty. You can apply the pastel through a stencil, which gives you the opportunity to get a precise pattern. The colors can also be blended, the colors are intense. The application process is not complicated, it involves applying the pastels directly to the fabric, then a clean sheet is applied over the drawing and ironed with an iron to fix it. The application is permanent and the colors are intense even after many washings.

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WATER PASTELS

Water pastels are an interesting form of medium that is similar in the creative process to watercolor. You can completely wash or blur the pigment from the surface of the paper, and with those in a stick (such as Caran d'Ache) it is also possible to work dry. Depending on the manufacturer, these are wax or oil pastels. The color palettes vary greatly depending on the company from very intense to delicate pastel shades that require several coats to achieve a more intense effect. They can also be mixed with metallic colors. The most highly pigmented are pastels by Caran d'Ache, and they allow painting on all materials.

They come in several forms, i.e.: crayon, stick or cubes just like in watercolor.

These types of pastels are also offered by companies such as: Talens or Derwent.

CONCLUSION

The price of pastels varies greatly, depending on the set and manufacturer. In most cases, we can take advantage of buying pastels by the piece.

This is a very convenient option because we don't have to immediately invest in expensive sets when we finish the most used colors, but it is certainly a more expensive proposition.

Most importantly, pastels, despite appearances, are, when stored properly, a very durable medium.

As you can see, pastels can be used in a wide variety of ways, it all depends on our creativity, so get to it !!!

TUTORIAL was published on the 4th issue of QUARTalnik, a magazine for artists. The magazine can be purchased in hard copy on Amazon or downloaded in a free online version at the link below: