Pastel
Pastel or pastels is an artistic expression which involves the application of soft colors by painting with soft crayons wrapped in paper. Traditionally, this resulted in a soft and delicate painting, although a modern school involves bolder applications. The procedure and materials sometimes make it difficult for the artist to fix mistakes, but the medium can be a forgiving one under most circumstances.
Pastel color is a general term for any color that is softly muted as it would be if drawn with pastels, but used most commonly for lighter-tinted colors (such as a muted pink, but not necessarily a muted red or muted navy blue).
Media
Commercial oil pastels.Pastel crayons or sticks, which resemble
chalk, consist of pure pigment combined with an inert binder, such
as gum arabic, gum tragacanth, or methyl cellulose. They are available
in varying degrees of hardness, the softer varieties being wrapped
in paper. The colors are simply drawn onto the artwork surface,
usually paper.
The available pastel media can be subdivided as follows:
Hard pastels — These have a higher portion of binder and less pigment, producing a sharp drawing material that is useful for fine details. These can be used with other pastels for drawing outlines and adding accents. However the colors are less brilliant than with, say, soft pastels.
Oil pastels — These have a soft, buttery consistency and intense colors. They are slightly more difficult to blend than soft pastels, but do not require a fixative.
Pastel pencils — These are pencils with a pastel lead. They are useful for adding fine details.
Soft pastels — This is the most widely used form of pastel. The sticks have a higher portion of pigment and less binder, resulting in brighter colors. The drawing can be readily smudged and blended, but it results in a higher proportion of dust. Drawings made with soft pastels require a fixitive to prevent smudging.
Water-soluble pastels — These are similar to soft pastels,
but contain a water-soluble component. This allows the colors to
be thinned out using a water wash.
Some artists protect their finished pieces by spraying them with
a fixative. In all cases, the pastel drawing or painting must be
framed under glass to further protect it from smudging, environmental
hazards, humidity, and so on. Drawings in a book of art paper can
be protected by separating the pages using laid paper.
Pastels can be applied on a surface with some tooth (usually consisting of finely ground pumice or marble dust) which holds the pastel color in place. This avoids or minimizes the need for applying fixative which tends to darken and dull colors
A pastel frottage created by rubbing pastel
