Pastels - Linda Harrison

Pastels
Sealing to protect & framing without glass
By Linda Harrison-Parsons
Questions to think about that affect sealing pastels.
Type of Pastel Paper? Majority of pastel artists use a sanded or textured paper.
What type of pastels? Almost everyone uses a mix of soft, hard and pastel
pencils.
Under paint? Watercolor, oil, pastels with alcohol are main options.
Do you use workable fixative? Most use some type of fixative.
Questions I ask myself
Why seal pastels?
Who has done this already?
How do you seal pastels & what products work?
Will it work?
Technique Questions
Does all this spraying affect the quality of the work?
Will it darken the work?
Knock back the whites & lights?
Will it lessen the details?
Will I ruin my work trying to do this?
There are many options to sealing pastels. Here are the
products that worked in three different experiments done in
the last year 2012-2013. Using something easy to find in local
art stores. Each test will explain which sprays to use & in what
order they worked best.
First Test 1of 3 (4x4x4plus method)
Krylon Workable Fixative – UV Clear Matte – Kamar Varnish
All are PH Neutral Products
1. Spray art work with Krylon Workable Fixative. Do not
overspray, one pass going side to side down the image. Allow
20 minutes in-between each pass & turn work with each new
pass for compete coverage. Repeat for a total of 4 passes.
2. Spray the UV Protective Spray after the Workable Fixative,
again light sprays, single passes, drying time, turn art with
each new spray. Repeat for total of 4 passes.
3. Kamar Varnish Spray, make sure can is well shaken, clean
nozzle after each spray. After the 4th spray, start to check to
see if the work is sealed. If it takes more then 6 passes of
Kamar you risk build up on the art work.
Turn art work a quarter turn with every spray pass.
This helps give a even spray pattern & better coverage.
4 x Fixative 4 x UV 4 plus Kamar Varnish
Some Results from First Test
The Fixative & UV spray are needed to build up the
layers slowly for the Kamar Varnish to work. Kamar can
not be used alone it is too thick & heavy causes damage
to the dry pastels.
Darker colors may take more sprays. Spot spraying can
be done if a small area needs additional Varnish.
Continue to spray lightly, allow drying time.
Touch up can be done before Kamar Varnish is sprayed
to lights or detailed areas.
Too many sprays can build up on the art works surface.
Here are two works that have been sealed using 4x4x4 with
Kamar Varnish.
Pastel on Bristol Paper above
Pastel on Rives BFK Paper
Second Test
The Second Test was the result of gallery asking what happens if the
art gets wet?
The first process does seal the art to give it some water resistance. A
drop of water can be blotted off without damage.
After applying the First Test’s 3 steps, apply Matte Medium & Varnish
with a soft brush with long event strokes. This liquid sealer fills inbetween the spray patterns and creates a flatter surface. It can leave
a slight shine to the surface and darken the image over all. But, it does
seal the work very well, protecting it from moisture. It is not waterproof.
Side Note – If the image is not sealed completely the liquid medium
will pick up the particles and dull the surface. It can be wiped off
quickly but may remove some of the original work.
Third Test: Made Some Changes
Some research referred to using Matte Sprays to seal, pastels, charcoal,
graphite, watercolors and acrylic paintings.
Changing out the Kamar Varnish with Matte Spray. Following the same
pattern of 4x4x4plus. Seal the pastel using:
4 passes of Workable Fixative
4 passes of UV Protective Spray
4 or more passes of Matte Spray
This process worked with less build up of texture. The Matte spray is
lighter then the Kamar Varnish but may leave a shine to the surface.
Experimenting – different papers – different pastels
As a follow up to sealing works on Rives BFK paper, needed to find out how
other papers reacted to this process. Canvas, canvas board and mat board were
used as direct application of pastels sealing them with the First Test and Second
Test.
Taking several different papers and a variety of soft to hard pastels created test
sheets. Each sheet was divide and sprayed. As seen on previous slide.
All of the papers could be sealed. Darker – softer pastels were more difficult to
cover. Using spot spraying to seal those two colors.
The papers used: Kitty Wallis – Canson Mi Tentes – Watercolor Cold Press –
Handmade Paper – Bristol – Rives BFK
Pastels: Terry Ludwig – Daler-Rowney – Sennelier – Schmincke – NuPastel –
Rembrant – Holbein – Unison
For additional information on the test results contact me and I will be happy to
email you the information. [email protected]
Protecting the back of the Art: Mounting Paper
mat board - form core – canvas – canvas board – wood – dry mount – wet mount
All different options, paper can be glued directly to a surface or dry mount paper can
be used. Spray mount may work, but would recommend photography grade spray –
this has not been tested with this process. Paper needs to have something to secure
it since there will not be mats or glass to protect the image. Form core works but is
not very strong, canvas board, wood or mounting boards work.
Conclusion
Pastels can be sealed using the Krylon products. It is just one product line but
this is the one tested with positive results at this time. With a side note of using
the Grumbacher Matte Medium & Varnish to add additional water protection.
Recommendation
Try experimenting with old pastel painting or create a small pastel using a style,
paper & materials that fits each individuals needs. Try all three techniques to
see which works best.
Follow-Up
Keep records of experimenting, share the information so that we may all
benefit and improve.
Patience, light hand on the spray and allow for mistakes.