MyArtTutor Pastels for Online Art Classes

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Pastels
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Leslie B. DeMille

Margaret Evans

Kippy Hammond

Urania Christy Tarbet
Soft pastels have enjoyed a new popularity in the past few decades thanks to many converts, but most especially credited to Flora Giffuni. The following quote is credited to the Pastel Society of America, "On the occasion of the 2004 founding of the Giffuni Gallery of American
Pastels at the Butler Institute of American Art, Butler director Dr. Louis A. Zona said "If the world of art had such designations [as 'patron
saints,'] Flora Giffuni would be deemed the 'Patron Saint of Pastels.'

The favorite medium of many of the past masters, their paintings are still just as vibrant and pure in color as the day they were finished. The problem with these old treasures is the ground used to put the pastel on. In many cases, the papers and boards are deteriorating, hence the low light conditions that present an air of fragility. The pastel pigments are just as vibrant as ever.

Considered as the purest art material, as close to raw pigment as you can get, pastels come in thousands of 'eye candy' color. The new supports are totally archival, and with proper framing and sensible care, a pastel painting will remain unchanged for years.

Another patron of pastels would have to be Urania Christy Tarbet, founder of the International Association of Pastel Societies. Regional societies have been developed all over the world.

Pick a class, pay close attention to the materials of choice from the tutor, and prepare to be astonished at what can be accomplished with soft pastels.

Gift Certificates are available,,,starting at $5.00! Perfect stocking stuffers for that artist on your list! Simply purchase the total amount you want to gift and you can split and email the amount to different lucky recipients.

TECHNIQUES
Techiques for applying pastels are many and varied. From more drawing strokes like cross-hatching to painterly abstracted strokes, you can achieve a finished product that will rival any oil.

MATERIALS
Soft pastels are raw pigment held together with binders that yield 'soft' pastels from hard to buttery.

Papers range from sandpaper finishes, to printmaking papers, to watercolor papers and boards.

There is a large range of boxes to enable en plein air painting, special fixatives based on ancient recipes, and thousands of colors. Henri Roche (Paris) has formulas for over 800 colors in their range. Happily, you will find tutors who recommend easy and inexpensive methods to get started.

FRAMING
Pastels have typically been framed with mats, similar to watercolors. With time, framers have learned to frame with a 'trough' between the pastel support and the mat that would enable any loose specks to fall inside the mat. There have also been relatively new products developed to allow the glass to be raised from the pastel, getting the painting closer to the surface of the glass, without touching it. This results in a more oil like impact on your walls.

Oil Pastels
Belong in their own category. They are neither oil nor pastel and cannot be mixed with soft pastels. Soft Pastel competitions do not allow oil pastels.