Thursday, September 18, 2014
Pastel Painting Class
I probably should have put this in here a long time ago, but better late than never. I am teaching a class in pastel painting starting this Monday, September 22 at Irondequoit Community Education. I will cover all things to do with pastel. We will meet for 5 weeks. If you are interested, please click on the link below or contact me at cmsavage31@gmail.com. Hope to see you there! www.westirondequoit.org/community-education.htm
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Mat, Fixative Or...
I currently don't frame my work with a mat or fixative. I frame them directly against the glass.
I used to use mats, but they're a nuisance as far as I am concerned. Cutting mats is a time-consuming pain. I have better things to do with my time - like paint!
Despite correctly measuring and doing the math to figure out where to cut, I'd still make mistakes and wind up throwing matboard out. It took a lot of time that I didn't have, but I couldn't afford to have a framer do it for me, so I cut them myself. Then there was the added expense of framing with a mat, or a double mat (if I was feeling extravagant). Mat-board, mat-cutter, blades... more linear inches of frame too, and bigger pieces of glass to cover a larger area. Sheesh.
Now, with the pastel right against the glass there are fewer expenses: smaller sheets of glass, smaller frames, not having to buy mat-board. Added bonuses: They are lighter and easier to carry, and numerous people comment that they thought they were oils.
Plus they are SO much easier to frame this way! It takes me a fraction of the time to frame them now than it did before.
Other artists have asked me about the pastel dust getting on the glass. Yes, a tiny amount does get on the glass, HOWEVER, it will never be an issue until you unframe the painting. And why would you want to do that? (Well, OK, I do unframe them occasionally if I have to reuse a frame, forget to sign them, forget to photograph them or scan them. That's how I know there is some dust left on the glass.) But seriously, it isn't enough to worry about. Plus the sanded Uart paper really holds onto the pastel.
I really like the way they look, too. I figure if someone doesn't like they way they are framed, they can have a framer redo the framing for them.
I used to use mats, but they're a nuisance as far as I am concerned. Cutting mats is a time-consuming pain. I have better things to do with my time - like paint!
Despite correctly measuring and doing the math to figure out where to cut, I'd still make mistakes and wind up throwing matboard out. It took a lot of time that I didn't have, but I couldn't afford to have a framer do it for me, so I cut them myself. Then there was the added expense of framing with a mat, or a double mat (if I was feeling extravagant). Mat-board, mat-cutter, blades... more linear inches of frame too, and bigger pieces of glass to cover a larger area. Sheesh.
Now, with the pastel right against the glass there are fewer expenses: smaller sheets of glass, smaller frames, not having to buy mat-board. Added bonuses: They are lighter and easier to carry, and numerous people comment that they thought they were oils.
Plus they are SO much easier to frame this way! It takes me a fraction of the time to frame them now than it did before.
Other artists have asked me about the pastel dust getting on the glass. Yes, a tiny amount does get on the glass, HOWEVER, it will never be an issue until you unframe the painting. And why would you want to do that? (Well, OK, I do unframe them occasionally if I have to reuse a frame, forget to sign them, forget to photograph them or scan them. That's how I know there is some dust left on the glass.) But seriously, it isn't enough to worry about. Plus the sanded Uart paper really holds onto the pastel.
I really like the way they look, too. I figure if someone doesn't like they way they are framed, they can have a framer redo the framing for them.
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