Fixative
In all honesty, I have used fixative in
the past, but it definitely made the pastel darker. I have a feeling
that I used too much of it and it liquified the pastel dust. Now,
since I really don't want anything to alter what I have painted, I
stay away from them. I want the colors and textures of the surface
to be the way I intended them to be. Besides, to really make a
pastel touchable, I would have to use a whole lot of fixative, and
even then I don't think I could make a pastel as easy to handle as an
oil painting. You just have to use care and not let anything touch
the surface.
I have heard that there is a relatively
new fixative on the market which will not alter the appearance of a
pastel, but I don't know the name of it. Here in Rochester there is
a wonderful art store called Rochester Art Supply (fineartstore.com).
If you are interested to find out more about this product, you may
want to contact them. I still don't use a fixative, however.
No fixative? Now what?!
As I have stated in other posts, I use a sanded paper. That means
that there is sand attached to the surface of the paper. It makes
for a very rough surface to work on. Although it tends to eat up
pastels, and my finger tips (which is why I never blend with my
fingers), it is great at holding onto the pastel dust. To remove any
loose dust which might fall off onto a mat when framed and while I
still have the painting taped to a sheet of masonite, I will hit the
edge of the masonite on a hard surface (like the sidewalk) to knock
off the loose pastel. That pretty much ensures that there won't be
any loose dust to fall onto the mat. Despite that, it does not mean
that the surface will not be marred if touched in any way, so don't
let anything touch the surface of your pastel painting.
