All about Oil Pastel and Pastel Painting
Pastel Painting is a form of painting that involves the use of
pastel sticks made from powdered pigment and binder.
The word "pastel" originates from the Medieval Latin pastellum, which means "woad paste," and the Late Latin pastellus, which means "paste." The word pastel first appeared in
French in 1662 and originated in northern
Italy in the 16th century and were used by
Jacopo Bassano and
Federico Barocci.
Pastels have been used by artists since the
Renaissance, but it gained a huge popularity in the 18th century when a number of well-known artists like
Edgar Degas,
Mary Cassatt and
Odilon Redon made pastels their primary medium.
Pigments are ground into a paste with water and a minimum of non greasy binder such as Tragacanth gum or Methyl Cellulose to make hard and soft pastels, which are then rolled, pressed, or extruded into sticks. Many of the color pigments, such as brilliant yellows, oranges, and reds, are derived from toxic materials such as cadmium. Pastels are mainly found in five different forms: hard pastels, soft pastels, pastel pencils, water soluble pastels and oil pastels.
Pastel painting may create a luscious, velvety texture with a deep, rich, splendid glow without the use of a lot of tools because it can be done with just the pastel itself.
Pastels are easily bendable, and can be blended with fingers, a blending stump, or a cloth. The final color effect of Pastel colors are more similar to natural dry pigments than any other painting technique.
Because the medium is mixed and blended directly on the working surface, unlike other painting techniques,
oil pastel or pastel painting can be difficult. As a result, there is no way to check the colors on a palette before putting them to the surface. Pastel errors also cannot be covered in the same manner that a paint error may be.
Because pastels are not firmly adhered to the paper's surface, they must be handled with extreme caution. Pastel, on the other hand, adheres to the paper's surface and is easily filthy unless protected by a glass or a fixatives consisting of glue or gum solution. Also, the majority of the fixatives are toxic.
Most of the fixatives used in pastel color paintings are poisonous. Additionally, many of the pigments, including the vivid yellows, oranges, and reds, are made from hazardous substances like cadmium. All pastels are unsuitable for vegans since they use oil or fat as a binder and certain pastel hues also contain animal fats.
NOTE: In this article, the term pastel or oil pastel refers solely to the oil pastel. Pastel colors are classified into several types including hard pastels, soft pastels, pastel pencils, water soluble pastels and oil pastel and so on. To know more about the all types you can check our other art articles.