Yarka pastels?

Sharon Knettell · 03-13-2004, 06:05 PM

I have been using the Golden Ground for Acrylics for a while now and love it .
I have noticed that you have a lovely finished classical style. I will tell you what has worked for me and how I think you can make it work better for your style.

I just used it on DiBond which is 2 aluminum skins with I think, a polyethylene core. Very lightweight , stable and less prone to warping, than masonite. It come in 3mm and 4mm and you can get it from signmaker suppliers. There is a very tony conservator supply site selling it for inflated dollars but it is the same material the signpainters use.

The next time I use it I am going to use a drying retardant so I can control the texture better.

I tint it first, then I spray ( airbrush) it with Golden's Fluid Matte Acrylic, mixed to the color I want. It makes the most beautiful velvety surface imaginable.
Make sure you use the Matte!

I use a simple single action Badger airbrush, not the small one, it is about $100 and a Sears compressor.

Sincerely,

Kitty Wallis · 06-30-2004, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sharon Knettell

Virgil,

I have been using that ground for a while now and love it .
I have noticed that you have a lovely finished classical style. I will tell you what has worked for me and how I think you can make it work better for your style.

I just used it on DiBond which is 2 aluminum skins with I think, a polyethylene core. Very lightweight , stable and less prone to warping, than masonite. It comes in 3mm and 4mm and you can get it from signmaker suppliers. There is a very tony conservator supply site selling it for inflated dollars but it is the same material the signpainters use.

The next time I use it I am going to use a drying retardant so I can control the texture better.

I tint it first, then I spray ( airbrush) it with Golden's Fluid Matte Acrylic, mixed to the color I want. It makes the most beautiful velvety surface imaginable.
Make sure you use the Matte!

I use a simple single action Badger airbrush, not the small one, it is about $100 and a Sears compressor.

Sincerely,

Hi Sharon and Virgil,

I've been enjoying reading your thoughtful and candid discussion.

I want to add what I've learned about archival quality in pastels.

Wallis paper is archival, the Museum grade tested at 500 years by Weyerhauser. I use the white, underpainted with Createx Pure Pigment since its contents are known and it doesn't fill in the grit texture of my paper. It also dries matte. I choose the pigements I know to be lightfast from their line. Therefore I don't have the fading paper issue.

I make my own pastels from pigments I have researched and found to be lightfast. Hansa Primrose yellow, Hansa Golden yellow, Azo Golden, Azo Red, Napthol Red Dark, Quinacridone Magenta, Pthalo Green, Pthalo Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Titanium Dioxide, and a group of earth colors. I also use Gum Tragacanth as the binder and a mixture of the whitest chalks in the white mix. I realize there are more pigments available. I like to keep my palette simple as possible.

Here is the underpainting and finished painting of a recent demo.

Kitty Wallis · 07-01-2004, 01:56 PM

..."make sample swatches on a suitable surface, cover half of each swatch, and leave the other half exposed, and set the panels in a window facing the sun. Check them once a week, comparing the covered half with the exposed half."

Thank you Virgil,
I appreciate your comment on my paper. I plan to test my pastels as you suggested above.

I did such a test with the usual brands and colors of tinted pastel paper. Within a few months most of them were faded by more than half. I used the back shelf of my car.

Kitty