What is pastel?

All varieties of painting are made with similar pigments (colour particles), but the main difference between them occurs in the medium used to carry the pigment.
Pastels have a binder, called gum tragacanth, and with a minimum of clay or kaolin. This is a medium which affects colour least, so the purity of colour is clear and bright. Even oil paints can not match the brilliant intensity and permanence of the colours. There are no oils to darken them as is the case with oil paintings,
and the colors will not fade as with watercolors.

History of pastels

Coloured chalks have been used for thousands of years, the earliest being
cave paintings, and masters of the Italian Renaissance used red chalk for
their underdrawings and sketching.
Modern pastel painting began about 250 years ago and centers around
France, where the value of the medium was first popularised.

Maurice Quentin de La Tour (1704-1788) was an earlier 'pioneer' in pastel, and he inspired painters such as Watteau, and turned pastel into a medium
with all the respectability of oils.
Probably the best known pastel pictures are those by Degas, whose pictures
of ballet dancers and race horses are well known and popular.

Today, pastels are more popular than ever. Artists love them because of the immediacy of effect and the freshness pastel brings to the canvas.

How to care for a pastel painting.

To preserve the brilliant colors, pastels are not sprayed with any fixative, which will darken the painting. This means that the surface is very durable unless rubbed,and if you someday decide to re-frame the painting, the surface can be smeared if the unframed painting is not handled carefully. Let your framer know that this is a pastel and to be careful with it. Also, if the framed painting is handled roughly, small particles of pastel may fall from the paper and stick to the inside of the glass or mat. These particles are easily removed by taking off the frame -- but doing so carefully! -- and using a small kneaded rubber eraser on the mat or a lint-free cloth on the glass. Otherwise, the painting is care-free, and will remain unchanged by time!.