Pastel
Pastel or pastels is an artistic expression which involves the application of soft colours by painting with soft crayons wrapped in paper. Ideally, this results in a soft and delicate painting, although a modern school involves bolder applications. The procedure and materials sometimes make it difficult for the artist to fix mistakes, but the medium can be a forgiving one under most circumstances.
Pastel crayons or sticks, which resemble chalk, consist of pure pigment combined with an inert binder. They are available in varying degrees of hardness, the softer varieties being wrapped in paper.
The colours are simply drawn onto the artwork surface, usually paper. Some artists protect their finished pieces by spraying them with a fixative. In all cases, the pastel drawing or painting must be framed under glass to further protect it from smudging, environmental hazards, humidity, and so on.
There are also oil pastels.
Pastel colour is a general term for any colour that is softly muted as it would be if drawn with pastels, but used most commonly for lighter-tinted colours such as a muted pink, but not necessarily a muted red or muted navy blue. |
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