What is pastel art?

All who are engaged in painting know what pastel art is. But in recent years, these pencils have become very popular with non-professionals, for example, with mothers with young children. Many teachers recommend that they use pastels for drawing with the kids. After all, these crayons are very soft, they create rich tones and blend well. In addition, they contain fairly safe substances: pigment, clay, chalk and glue.

Application of pastels

Pastel art is known in painting from the 16th century. At that time, the artists did it themselves, chopping the chalk with the pigment and adding a binder. To form the shape of the chalks, a little water was added to the mixture. Then the composition was dried and cut into bars. In the technique of pastels draw many famous artists: Chardin, Renoir, Vrubel, Serov and others. This method was used in the teaching drawings, and as an addition to the basic paints, and as an independent technique.

For painting pastel you need a rough surface, because it is very loose and contains little binding pigment. But the drawings made in this technique, look unusual. Light, reflected from the pigment particles, gives the work of painting dullness, velvety and special pastel softness. Best of all, these drawings look on special paper, cardboard, canvas or sheets, treated with a special primer.

How to make a pastel

An artistic pastel consists of a pigment, water and a binder, most often clay, gum arabic or gypsum. All is well mixed up to a doughy state. The very name "pastel" comes from the Italian word, meaning "dough". To obtain different shades, chalk or talc is added . This mass is filled with tubes and dried in heat.

The quality of pastels depends on the thoroughness of the grinding of the pigment. The better it is possible to mix all the components, the better the chalk. In modern production, this is done by special machines, and the process is repeated 5-6 times. The best is already many years pastel art Petersburg. It is soft, has a huge number of shades, it is well shaded and does not crumble.

Advantages and disadvantages of pastels

Pastel crayons are the best material for drawing, especially for children. They are soft and fall on any kind of paper. There are many shades that blend easily with each other. Errors in drawing are immediately easy to fix, because The next layer closes the previous one without any problems. No additional tools are required for pastel painting.

But the drawings made in this technique are very fragile, they are afraid of shaking, mechanical damage and moisture. Many do not like the fact that these chalks are quite expensive. But if you compare the benefits, then the artistic past wins. Its price is higher than that of colored pencils, but it is much more convenient and easier to draw. A set of 12 colors costs from 100 to 500 rubles, depending on the manufacturer.

If you want to teach your child to draw, then pastel art is the best tool for this. The child will like her soft shades, something that she can easily shade with her finger. Drawings are bright and unusual.