Under painting and durability of pastels

The comment from Bag Blog, artist and writer, prompted me to expand a little on my under painting techniques. I like under painting technique. I prefer to work on a toned surface. White is a little intimidating, for some reason, and it takes much more pastel to cover the surface.

I first tried this in 1999. (The year that Sue introduced me to pastels at the International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS) Convention in Albuquerque.) I followed a "how to" article from the Artists Magazine. I do not remember the artist's name. Sorry. Maybe the artist will see this and tell me. :) I used regular Mi Tientes paper and denatured alcohol. The paper curled a little when wet, but straightened out and is fine. The under painting was with complimentary colors in the large value shapes.


It is about 9 x 12 inches and is hanging above the closet door on my studio wall, just in a mat, no glass. This snapshot is taken without taking it off the wall, so not a great shot. The point is that after all this time, it looks the same and the paper seems to be fine. The painting is probably a little dusty, but shows no damage from the atmosphere. It was stored between glassine for a couple of years has been hanging on the wall for 5 or more years. :)

About that time, I took a class with Kathleen Cook. She used Wallis paper and turpentine for her under paintings. She just used a mottled background. She also suggested using black in your shadows under the colors when you did not have a dark pastel. She is very precise in her drawings and was a great instructor.


One of the first pastels I did back in 1994 is on a full sheet of Mi Tientes. I didn't have many pastels. You can see I used black to darken the areas around the still life. Little did I know, that this was a very accepted method! This pastel has been hanging in our bedroom since 1997 with no glass. It broke in the move and I decided the painting was not worth the expense to buy such a big piece of glass. It is still in great shape, don't you think? Pastel is not nearly as fragile as people think.

I have used regular alcohol when I ran out of denatured alcohol. It dries so quickly that it is my preferred liquid. Turp gives me a headache and water is slow to dry.

I also had some paintings at a restaurant where there was a kitchen fire several years ago. The oils melted and looked like leather that had been heated. The acrylics just melted away. The water color paper was singed from the heat and discolored. All the glass broke on the paintings. The paint on the frames, curled up and peeled. The pastel paintings were fine. A little smoke odor for a while. The pigment protected the paper. I reframed them and they have been fine as well.

Bill Creevy said at that same IAPS Convention, to try anything. Watercolor, acrylic, etc. He uses acrylic medium and more. He uses a metal pallette knife or spoon to push the pastel into the paper. He used Gamblin PVA Size to fix pastels in one of his techniques, to frame without glass. His book, The Pastel Book, has so much information on techniques and equipment for pastel artists.

Old Pets

Pastel on canvas, fixed, framed without glass

This is a painting I did with Bill Creevy's technique. It looks just like an oil painting in real life. I think this would melt because of the PVA size on it.

To sum it up, you can try almost anything with pastels, they are almost pure pigment and very durable. Under painting is fun and looks great. A big savings on time and pastels to cover the surface. You can let it show through the painting as a compliment or cover it completely. Don't be afraid of messing up, you can wipe it off and start over. Time spent on a "wipe out" is not wasted. You learn something each time you paint. Comes down to practice, practice.

Sorry I got off track, it is a way to procrastinate and not work on my web page and paper work for my show in New Mexico .. only 10 days away. Ouch!