Got this question yesterday, when I was telling someone what medium Fizz is done in. I can see why its confusing--the word pastel often is thought of as those soft colors used in Easter dresses.
I had started explaining it but it got too long winded, so here's Wiki's definition, which was simpler....
A Pastel is an art medium in the form of a stick, consisting of pure powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are the same as those used to produce all colored art media, including oil paints; the binder is of a neutral hue and low saturation. The color effect of pastels is closer to the natural dry pigments than that of any other process.[1]
Pastels have been used by artists since the Renaissance, and gained considerable popularity in the 18th century, when a number of notable artists made pastel their primary medium.
An artwork made using pastels is called a pastel (or a pastel drawing or pastel painting).
Some pastels are harder and those are usually square and slender. The softer ones have more pigment load in them, and are often hand rolled, and glide onto the paper like hot butter. YUM! The avatar photo of this blog is of my pastels in their trays. Like most pastelists, I have hundreds of sticks, and use every one!
Pastel paintings are fragile, as they can be smeared like charcoal. But once under glass, they will outlast any of us here today. My work is done using the very best pastel brands, only on the highest quality papers, framed by myself with acid free materials.
2 comments:
I was explaining yesterday too that pastel isn't soft spring colors too. (to an attorney/candidate)
yes, there is big confusion with the soft 'easter' colors, and also with pastels as 'chalk'. I hope this post will help a few understand that pastel is a long standing medium worthy of fine art!
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