Page 442 - (DK) The Ultimate Visual Dictionary 2nd Ed.

THE VISUAL AR TS

Pastels EQUIPMENT FOR MAKING PASTELS

PASTELS ARE STICKS OF PIGMENT made by mixing ground pigment Glass muller
with chalk and a binding medium, such as gum arabic. They
Chalk
vary in hardness depending on the proportion of the binding
medium to the chalk. Soft pastel—the most common form
of pastel—contains just enough binding medium to hold the
pigment in stick form. Pastels can be applied directly to
any support (surface) with sufficient tooth (texture). When a
pastel is drawn over a textured surface, the pigment crumbles
and lodges in the fibers of the support. Pastel marks have a
particular soft, matte quality and are suitable for techniques Glass slab with Gum Ivory-black Cobalt-blue
abrasive surface arabic pigment pigment
such as blending, scumbling, and feathering. Blending is a
technique of rubbing and fusing two or more colors on the
support using fingers or various tools such as tortillons
EXAMPLES OF SOFT PASTELS
(paper stumps), soft hair brushes, putty erasers, and soft
bread. Scumbling is a technique of building up layers of
pastel colors. The side or blunted tip of a soft pastel is
lightly drawn over an underpainted area so that patches COBALT-BLUE
of the color beneath show through. Feathering is a HALF PASTEL
technique of applying parallel strokes of color with the
point of a pastel, usually over an existing layer of
pastel color. A thin spray of fixative can be applied—
using a mouth diffuser (see pp. 430-431) or
aerosol spray fixative—to a finished pastel
painting, or in between layers of color, to
prevent smudging.
VERMILION
HALF PASTEL

OLIVE-GREEN MAUVE
FULL PASTEL FULL PASTEL
EQUIPMENT USED WITH PASTELS
BOXED PASTEL SET Boxed set containing
a mixture of portrait
and landscape colors

Soft bread
Foam suitable for
compartments PUTTY ERASER BREAD erasing and
protect the blending
pastels AEROSOL SOFT
SPRAY FIXATIVE HAIR BRUSH
TORTILLONS
Soft pastel (PAPER STUMPS)

Soft point
used for
blending
Wooden
tray
Tight roll
of paper