2009 14 Oct

How Can One Fix Pastel Paintings The Diligent Way?…

If you are new to pastels you may not know how to save your paintings plus keep them in the finest possible manner. This is fixing. Every work is better protected one way or another, even canvas artwork.

To fix or not to fix, that is the query? Merely you can resolve that. Artists the world over possess special viewpoints. You can fix once your work is entirely finished, perform a small piece here and there while you go along, otherwise just not fix it at all. Artists may think it might not sustain it’s colour clearness.

Take a sheet of tissue paper or else cellophane this would do equally well. To continue you need something hard and level to put your art on. Cover it by your paper, then put on some pressure to this. This will make certain loose speckles of pastel will go into the paper’s grain. On the other hand, should you exert too much pressure, your surface could be varying. Failing this, if you do not like this technique, you can easily spray your work like to how you would abstract oil paintings.

It is relatively easy to plunge into the trap of spraying your painting too much. So, with this in mind, it is a sound approach to spray from behind. Really the fix penetrates throughout the paper then being damp it remains in position, keeping your surface protected. This seems to be a sensible manner of doing it because you are not left with a film lying on your free pigments.

I would by no means state that fixing is an undemanding task. You can utilize maybe a diffuser, which commonly clog up. Hence the disadvantage being that you have to take a narrow wire to them after use, consequently they are dirt free for your next usage. Among these stand your distance, a safe two feet away. Spray from this space the outer surface initially.

You want to try for a fine spray. This being so, you need to work slowly, by way of a firm arm to and fro, backwards as well as forwards, on no account stopping and covering the edges perfectly. Disasters happen if you stop as the spray will stick, then start dripping down then result in dark unsightly patches.

Next step, oh dear, you want to keep your colours fresh and fix it. How do I execute this? You need to carry out this at the same time as you work, although before you lay your last colour paint layer or else do any highlighting. This then should still stay fresh.

This is a fine approach to alleviate colour mixing problems from beforehand. Once colours merge, your work can be spoilt furthermore this is depressing and you also don’t require your colours lifeless. I can’t bear seeing dreary colouring going on contemporary abstract painters.

All I can recommend is this, do not fix the last layer of colour if you desire fine fresh colour. Fixing can be a difficult procedure, hence I can no more than wish you the best of good luck with it!

Article by Anna Meenaghan