Fixative for graphite drawings

Andrea Evans · 05-11-2002, 01:45 PM

What fixative is best for graphite drawings, if any at all? I use Berol Turquoise pencils 9H through 7B range on 100% cotton paper. In the past, I have used sprays such as Blair No Odor Spray Fix, Workable Matte Fixative, and the drawings have held up.

Andrea

Karin Wells · 05-16-2002, 12:57 AM

I can't really answer your question directly, but want to suggest that you spray your fixative outdoors...it is lethal stuff when airborne and you want to breathe as little of it as possible.

Also, here's something NOT to do. A long time ago I met a "pureist" who dazzled me with his knowlege of art. He easily convinced me that the best old painters applied fixative to their superior drawings with a little metal gadget that looks somewhat like a folding straw....you put one end into the fixative bottle and gently blow on the other end. Theoretically, the fixative will come out as a fine mist and "fix" your drawing. Hah!

I stupidly went right out and bought one of these devices and an expensive little bottle of imported French fixative. I carefully followed the directions and even practiced on an old drawing with good results. When I moved on to the drawing that I had slaved over, the fixative suddenly came out in great globs and ruined everything - including my clothes.

After that fiasco, I had great results with any brand of fixative in an aerosol spray can that happened to be the cheapest. I even used hair spray in a pinch and that worked too (although I can't recommend it).

Sandy Barnes · 05-16-2002, 05:49 AM

LOL. Karin, you just brought back a funny memory. When I was a kid I used hairspray on my pencil drawings. I had a shoe box that I drew on to look like a camera. Inside of my "camera" I kept paper, pencil and hairspray. During adult get-togethers I would "shoot" their pose, quickly draw it, "fix" it and hand them out to the crowd. Ahh, to be a kid again...

Karin Wells · 05-16-2002, 09:59 AM

LOL Sandy....that was so verrrry clever of you...I think you were probably my kind of kid!

Dan Landrie · 03-28-2007, 12:05 AM

Karin

"a little metal gadget that looks somewhat like a folding straw"

Your description of what I believe is called an atomizer brought back some bad memories for me also. I had one of these little gadgets and all it helped me to do was make a mess.

Richard Bingham · 03-28-2007, 05:53 PM

Fixatifs are rather a compromise . . . the application of a varnish (that's what they are) over paper begs the question of the material's long-term resistence to yellowing and UV exposure.

For what it's worth, graphite on paper eventually becomes very permanent. It's been my experience that drawings over five years old cannot be changed by erasure. This is probably due to the nature of graphite platelets, which tend to "migrate" into the materials it comes in contact with.

As for the folding atomizer, I have one that 's over 50 years old, I use it regularly with no problem, and it's mighty handy to be able to apply my "studio mixes" of retouch varnishes and fixatifs without relying on packaged aerosols. To work well, it has to be clean, well-aligned, and no dents or burrs on the tubes.