Pastel Papers, etc. - Page 2

Sharon Knettell · 01-31-2004, 03:47 PM

Linda,

Twice? I did not realize you were a historical movie buff, or was it Russell Crowe in tight pants?

I believe it was all the paper, maps, documents drawing paper, email them and ask.

Linda Brandon · 02-01-2004, 12:24 PM

Hi Sharon,

I've been on a quest for coming up with large drawings that don't need to be protected by glass.

I've posted about preparing ABS panels on this thread:

http://forum.portraitartist.com/show...&threadid=2906

So far I've experimented with a combination of Nupastel and Charcoal. The biggest problem, of course, is that the ABS surface can't take a layers of drawing medium. The other problem is that sanded ABS will eventually yellow with exposure to UVA rays unless it's covered with a layer of media. After pulling out white highlights I went back in and put white Nupastel in to protect the ABS surface. I plan to spray varnish this to see what happens.

I'm posting a detail of a large panel.

I was on a Sir Henry Raeburn quest all summer, tracking down his portraits all over the east coast. I love that whole swashbuckling, British commmander costume look. Would you believe me when I told you I saw the movie twice just to see the clothes? (I knew you wouldn't.)

Hold Fast,
Linda

Linda Brandon · 02-01-2004, 12:25 PM

Forgot to attach the detail:

Sharon Knettell · 02-01-2004, 03:09 PM

Linda,

Thanks for the info on the ABS panel, the portrait of your husband is quite stunning.

I have switched from MDF board to putting my acrylic primer for pastels on DiBond. It saves me a great deal of weight. Also it does not buckle when you frame it. You could brush on the Art Spectrum primer which is more opaque, tinted and smoother.

There was an article several years ago, in American Artist, by a gentleman who shows his conte and pastel drawings sans glass. I'll see if I can find it. The upshot was that he used mainly charcoal, conte, white pastel and sanguine that was not adversly affected by his method, which quite saturated the paper.

He sprayed the drawing with, I believe Golden GAC,many times until no pigment came off.

Talk to Mike Townsend at Golden paints,(www.goldenpaints.com) he will lead you through the process. The technical staff there is very helpfull. I think this will work for you, however it is really rough on the blues.

Not a bit!

Valerie Gudorf · 02-02-2004, 10:36 PM

Sharon, I would be interested in hearing your opinion on Kitty Wallis pastel paper, which seems to be extremely popular with many pastelists, and can be obtained in rolls for large scale works. Have you tried it? I was thinking about giving this paper a shot, as I really don't like the idea of having to spend exorbitant amounts of time, preparing my own ground.

Chris Saper · 02-03-2004, 12:18 AM

Hi Valerie,

I don't know of anyone who has done more exhaustive research on different pastel grounds than Sharon has...as to the Wallis question, you may wish to look at the other references here on Wallis paper.

Sharon Knettell · 02-03-2004, 08:38 AM

Thanks Chris,

Of all the substrates out there I have yet to try the Wallis paper.I like a deep background color to work on and I have not yet come up with a paint that will work to my satisfaction on Wallis without rubbing off. I have a heavy hand so any standard watercolor, to my knowledge, will rub off. I have a medium in mind but I have as yet not tried it.

For my pastel drawings I use large sheets of pigmented paper, as big as I can get.

Art Spectrum has a premixed tinted primer that can be put on almost anything. Also as I have mentioned before New York Central Art www.nycentralart.com has beautiful pastel papers, with pigmented grounds, similar to the Wallis surface, in two sizes.
www.dakotapastel.com offers Art Spectrum papers and boards, also in two sizes. They are already covered with the Art Spectrum ground.

I like putting on my own ground because I can color it any way I want it and I have more control of the surface. I can make it smoother in one area or rougher in another.

Hope this helps.

Kitty Wallis · 07-02-2004, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sharon Knettell

Thanks Chris,
Of all the substrates out there I have yet to try the Wallis paper.I like a deep background color to work on and I have not yet come up with a paint that will work to my satisfaction on Wallis without rubbing off. I have a heavy hand so any standard watercolor, to my knowledge, will rub off. I have a medium in mind but I have as yet not tried it.

Hi Sharon,

I use Createx Pure Pigment as an underpainting medium. It provides Very strong color, dries matte and is effortless. I'm very surprised to hear you can rub color off of my paper. I can't rub the Createx off and it doesn't have a paint body.

Shall I send you a sample to try?

Kitty

Sharon Knettell · 07-03-2004, 01:13 PM

Kitty,

I actually have a piece of your paper to try. I was going to experiment with ChromaColour, a UK product. It is an acrylic based watercolor and according to the manufacturer and an English materials book, it is water and fade proof.

I remember talking to the Createx people ( in Connecticut) and they were unsure about it (Createx) being waterproof or able to withstand rubbing. Maybe you should tell them it does. However they think you are a color genius!

That is the reason I ferreted out CromaColor to acheive the same result.

Actuall I plan to airbrush it on the paper sample to see what happens. I LOVE to work large and your paper would be great if my experiment works.

However, right now I am in the middle of a large oil and the experiment will have to wait.

Thanks for the offer.

Valerie Gudorf · 07-05-2004, 10:26 AM

Thanks for the info about Createx pigments, Kitty. I was hoping to avoid having to go out and buy yet another kind of paint to use just to tone my pastel grounds because I have so many tubes of professional watercolor pigments. I was hoping I'd be able to use them for this purpose, as well as my traditional watercolor paintings. Will watercolor paint not work? If not, why not?