Etude d'apres un buste Romain by
Mademoiselle de Mondran, 1786
Hard pastels began as Sanguine or red chalk made with iron oxides which had been in use at least by 1512 when Leonardo da Vinci used it.
Woman With Folded Hands
by Peter Paul Rubens, 1629
Trois Crayons (French for "three chalks") is a drawing technique using three colors of chalk: red, black and white. The paper used may be a mid-tone grey, blue or tan. It was pioneered and popularized by the Flemish master, Peter Paul Rubens during the 17th century.
Phillip, Duke of Anjou by Joseph Vivien, 1700
Soft pastels were introduced by French artist, Jean Perreal in 1499. He taught the medium to Leonardo da Vinci when he visited Italy. The first French artist to specialize in pastel painting was Joseph Vivien.
A Woman Fishing by Georges Seurat, 1884
Conte crayons were invented in 1795 by Nicolas-Jacques Conte in response to the shortage of graphite caused by the Napoleonic War. They are a drawing medium composed of compressed graphite or charcoal mixed with a wax or clay base. Georges Seurat used conte crayons in the 1880s to produce many of his studies. Today, they are available in a range of pigments including: iron oxides (sanguine), bistre (a shade of brown made from boiling wood soot), grey, carbon black and titanium dioxide mixed with kaolin in a binder of methylcellulose.
Pastels are available as hard, soft, drawing and outdoor. I've read that the difference between hard and soft pastels is the amount of binder used. However, the recipes I found dispute this. It isn't the amount of binder, but rather the type of binder that determines whether a pastel is hard or soft. Soft and pan pastels also do not traditionally contain a filler. The filler for hard pastels is always clay. Outdoor pastels contain beeswax emulsified with ammonia.
Chalk is a different type of hard pastel that is made with calcium carbonate from lime or calcium sulfate from gypsum.
There are also two grades of chalk: drawing chalk and sidewalk chalk. Drawing chalk is made with calcium carbonate and kaolin. Sidewalk chalk is made only with calcium sulfate (plaster of Paris).
Oil Pastels are covered in the oil paint tutorial.
Colored Clay Try using different clays for natural earth tones. From Nature With Love has the best selection. They sell a kit with 2 oz of 13 different clays for $50. TKB Trading has 8 clays in sample sizes for $3.00 each.
Plaster of Paris Hobby and Craft can be found at Walmart.
Stearic Acid is a saturated fatty acid which is used to emulsify, thicken, bind and stabilize lotions and creams. Use 3-6 tablespoons per pound of wax. $3.00/8oz at TKB.
White Beeswax You need this for oil sticks, oil pastel, colored pencils and wax crayons. TKB sells 8 oz for $5.25.
Methylcellulose is a cheaper alternative for tragacanth. It's available from Dharma Trading for $15.95. It's also sold as wallpaper paste, paper mache and Citrucel. I don't think fiber supplements will work because of the inactive ingredients added to it.
Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is used as a wetting agent for water soluble pastel. It's widely available as a powder laxative.
Klean-Strip Green Denatured Alcohol dissolves tragacanth. Get it for $7.25 at Walmart.
Refer to my posts: Make Your Own Art Supplies, Makeup, Pigment, Paint and Dye, and Media Molds and Containers for a list of things you will need to complete this tutorial.
Tragacanth
1-3 tsp. Tragacanth
5 tsp. Denatured alcohol
10 tsp. Distilled water
1 Drop Germall Plus
3 baby food jars
Condiment bowl
Pour tragacanth into a condiment bowl. Add alcohol and mix until dissolved. Add distilled water while stirring. Pour into a baby food jar. Shake the jar with the lid on and then let sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours. It will gel up, but should still be pourable. Make 3 different strengths with 1, 2 and 3 teaspoons tragacanth. Label each jar accordingly.
Test pigments with different strengths of binder so you'll know which one to use for each pigment.
Methylcellulose
1/4 oz Methylcellulose
1/2 Pint Distilled Water, boiling
1/2 Pint Distilled Water, cold
1/8 tsp. Ammonia
Boil 1/2 pint of water. Slowly add methylcellulose while stirring. Pour in cold water while stirring. Add ammonia and stir. Check the pH. Allow to rest for 20 minutes and stir again. Pour into a 1/2 pint Mason jar.
Pan Pastel
6 Tads Pigment
Alcohol
Prepared Tragacanth
Pan pastel uses the minimum amount of binder.
Place pigment in a mound onto plate glass. Place a few drops of alcohol into the pigment and work with a palette knife. Add just enough prepared binder to wet it. Work with a palette knife until crumbly. Press into pans. Allow to dry.
Soft Pastel Sticks
6 Tads Pigment
Alcohol
1 Tad Pumice (optional)
Prepared Tragacanth
Soft pastel uses just enough binder to form a stick.
Place pigment in a mound onto plate glass. Place a few drops of alcohol into the pigment and work with a palette knife. Mix with pumice. Add just enough prepared binder to make a thick paste. Work with a palette knife until thoroughly combined. Shape into a stick with three fingers. Allow to dry.
Hard Pastel
6 Tads Kaolin
6 Tads Pigment
Alcohol
Prepared Methylcellulose
Hard pastel has kaolin and a harder binder. It is often used for preliminary sketching.
Place pigment in a mound onto plate glass. Place a few drops of alcohol into the pigment and work with a palette knife. Mix with kaolin. Work with a palette knife until thoroughly combined. Add just enough prepared binder to make a thick paste. Work with the palette knife again. Shape into a stick with three fingers. Allow to dry. These can also be extruded into pencils.
Water Soluble Pastel
6 Tads Dye Pigment
1/8 tsp. Triton X-100
1 Tad Polyethylene glycol
Prepared Tragacanth
Place pigment in a mound onto plate glass. Place Triton onto the pigment and work with a palette knife. Mix in the polyethylene glycol. Add just enough prepared binder to make a thick paste. Work with a palette knife until thoroughly combined. Shape into a stick with three fingers. Allow to dry.
Outdoor Pastel Binder
1/4 C. Boiled linseed oil
3/4 C. Beeswax
1/2 Tbsp. Stearic acid
1/4 C. Ivory bar soap, grated
1 C. Distilled water
Double boiler
Whisk
2 Large covered pots
1 plastic tub of ice water to hold the pot of emulsion while cooling.
Grate soap and set aside. Melt beeswax in a double boiler. Measure out 3/4 liquid cups. Add linseed oil and combine. Remove excess beeswax from the boiler pot. Return the oil/wax mixture to the double boiler and heat to 325F. Add stearic acid and stir until combined.
Pour the water into a pot and bring to a rapid boil on medium-high heat. Add soap and stir until melted.
Pour soap mixture into the hot oil/wax mixture slowly but consistently, while beating rapidly. Beat until well combined.
Pour the emulsion into the second metal pot and set into the ice bath. Stir constantly until room temperature. It should be smooth and thick.
Mix 2 parts prepared tragacanth (strength according to the pigment) to 1 part emulsion.
Drawing Chalk
4 Tads Calcium carbonate or pickling lime
6 Tads Kaolin or other clay
6 Tads Pigment
Prepared Methylcellulose
Oral syringe
Clay extruder
Corrugated paper, either size
Blank newsprint
Corrugated paper, either size
Blank newsprint
Mixing
Pre-mix an extra batch of the calcium carbonate or pickling lime and kaolin in case you need to add a little more if using paint. The mixture should be thick like bread dough. You can add titanium dioxide for a pure white.
Pack mixture into the syringe or clay extruder. Extrude a 3-1/4" stick into the groove of corrugated paper. The rounded grooves will help the sticks retain their shape.
Outdoor Pastel
6 Tads Kaolin
6 Tads Pigment
3 Tads Prepared Methylcellulose
Combine pigment with kaolin. Place pigment mixture in a mound onto plate glass. Make a well in the center. Place binder into the well. Work with a palette knife until thoroughly combined. Shape into a stick with three fingers. Allow to dry.
Children's Outdoor Chalk
1-1/2 C. Plaster of Paris
3/4 C. Warm Water
2-3 Tbsp. Acrylic paint
Paper cups
Silicon mold
Wax paper
Cookie sheet
Place mold onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.
Prepare plaster and pour equal portions into paper cups. Mix in paint. Use up to 6 tablespoons of paint for more saturated color. Pour into molds. Allow to cure.
Blending Colors
6 Tads Titanium dioxide, black oxide or neutral pigment
TINTS Pre-mix before adding to the recipe.
Mix 2 Tads of color with 1 Dash of white for 80% strength.
Mix 1 Tad of color with 1 Dash of white for 75% strength.
Mix 1 Tad of color with 1 Tad of white for 50% strength.
Mix 1 Dash of color with 1 Tad of white for 25% strength.
Mix 1 Dash of color with 2 Tads of white for 10% strength.
This will give you 5 tints.
TONES Do the same as above using black or brown oxide instead of white. Yellow doesn't darken; it becomes green when mixed with black or blue. Mixed with any other color, it becomes brown.
GRAYS & NEUTRALS Follow the same formula as above mixing black with white for various shades of charcoal and gray. Add lavender, blue, and green to gray for muted tones. Next, mix ultramarine with brown for cool gray. Mix red with green for warm gray. Add white to create tints.
Storage
Wrap soft pastels with labeled newsprint. The pastels and corrugated paper can be stacked in a craft box. Richeson Roz Boxes are available from Art Supply Warehouse. The Neef pastel box is available from Australia. Pastel drawers are available on eBay for $46.09.
Thank you so much for sharing all this knowledge. Amazing.
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome. Thank you for commenting.
Delete