I am just nuts. Thanks for the kind comments.

I have a set of Unisons myself. Fabulous. I also bought a set of Great Americans. They are wonderful and consistantly creamy , have a fabulous range of colors, especially skintones and don't crumble like the Senneliers.

Pastels
 

I like Senneliers also. But they are so soft that I only use them on the last layer for final touches. I also like Grumbacher but again they are very soft. I haven't tried the Great American. May have to do so. I love trying the different pastels.

Do you spray your pastels? I've just recently started spraying since I have had some unfortunate incidents where the pastel really fell off in shipping. I tap my paintings also to get as much loose dust off as possible. Anything you would suggest?

Thanks
Ardith

My pictures are so big I feel I have to spray. This paranoia about spraying is incomprehesible to me as there are some really good sprays on the market.

Daniel Greene in his book "Pastel", unfortunately out of print, tells of the benefits of spray. He uses it to darken areas, the builds tones on top of them.

I like Perfix, by Rowney. I can't see where it darkens it at all.
The old Grumbacher or Blair spray did and were splotchy to boot. The Lascaux is also good.

I am now experimenting with the new matte archival spray from Golden. It apparently has a UV protectant. It seems to be a little heavier than the Rowney. Also, I think the surface may have to do something with darkening. Absorbtive surfaces may darken more than the acrylic surface I am using.

The Golden Acrylic ground also holds a lot of pastel.

DON'T DO THIS, but I do! Since my pieces are so large I carefully vacuum the surface. The nozzle is raised about 1" off the surface.

I said I was nuts. Hope this helps

Spray
 

Sharon,

Thanks for the info. That's funny you mentioned the vacuum cleaner. I just rec'd. my Artist's Magazine and there is an article about a pastel artist that said she used the vacumm on her pastel paintings too. Just goes to show you, you're not nuts!!!! I'm going to give it a try.

Hey, I've looked in all of my art material catalogs and cannot find the Daler Rowney spray you mentioned. Could you tell me where I could find it?

Thanks again,
Ardith

Call me nuts too. I keep a small hand vac next to my pastel paintings and vacuum all the way through the process. Really keeps the dust down.

And, congrats to all! All these paintings are breathtaking.

Jean

Congratulations to all three of you! Beautiful paintings.

[QUOTE=Ardith Starostka]Sharon,

Thanks for the info. That's funny you mentioned the vacuum cleaner. I just rec'd. my Artist's Magazine and there is an article about a pastel artist that said she used the vacumm on her pastel paintings too. Just goes to show you, you're not nuts!!!! I'm going to give it a try.

Hey, I've looked in all of my art material catalogs and cannot find the Daler Rowney spray you mentioned. Could you tell me where I could find it?

Thanks again,
Ardith[/QUOTE

Ardith,

I get a lot of stuff from www.dakotapastels.com, they have it.

Congratulations to all three of you. You all certainly deserve the recognition! Sharon, you know I have long admired your work and Ardith, I'm so thrilled to see you posting here. I have admired your website. I just discovered these little powdery sticks the end of last summer and have fallen in love with them. I can only hope that one day I can master them the way you all have. Keep talking, I'm taking notes. (vacuums, sprays etc.) ;)