Tuesday 19 April 2016

The Importance of Paper

One of the most important parts of my work with pastels is layers. I build many layers of pastels to create a huge variety of tints, shades and textures. For me, layers are central to the 'painterly' way I work with pastels. However, layers cannot to be created on just any old paper.

I often get lovely comments about my work from people at art shows. One that crops up sometimes is  'I love your work but I've tried pastels and just can't get on with them'. The first thing I always ask is what kind of paper they are working on.  Nearly every time, apart from a minority who can't bear getting their hands dirty (if this is you, pastels are not your medium, look away now) they will either look confused or say they use something like sugar paper / general branded pastel paper in pads. These are all papers that lack any 'tooth'. Attempting to work with even a few layers -which is one of the joys of pastels- will end in failure. After 2 or 3 layers, the colours will just fall off the paper and it all becomes hugely frustrating.

Paper is on of main technical considerations with pastels. To create anything with a few layers, the surface is all important. I use three particular papers- Clairefontaine Pastelmat, Fisher 400 and Sennelier pastel card. Which one I use depends on the kind of work I'm interested in creating and the subject matter. It is vital to choose the right paper for the right subject.

Pastelmat:
When working on an image which is detailed, colour-filled and involves careful control of layers- for example a sunset, I will work on pastelmat. This is a paper with a very fine tooth. It feels deceptively soft and smooth to touch. However, when you apply a little pastel to it, the pastel won't blend or move on the surface- in fact it takes many layers of pastel to get movement on this paper. But its well worth persevering as the results can be stunning. It allows you to control and retain colour, as well as create movement and light.
pastel mat
Fisher 400:
This an interesting paper to work with- it feels extremely rough to the touch but conversely- as opposed to the smooth feel of pastelmat- it blends more readily. This means is often 'quicker' to work with. However, this gives you less control over blending and mark making- so I use it for work where I want a looser and more textured appearance - storms or wilder weather. It also allows you to experiment as liquids can be used as well- either to create a base-using inks or watercolours- or when working with the pastels- Pastel Liquefier. I enjoy creating brush mark effect with liquefier then working over with detail in pastels and pastel pencils.
close up of textures on Fisher paper

Sennelier Pastel Card:
There are times when I just want to explore textures and layers and capture quick impressions- often semi abstract. This is a paper where its all about the very sandpapery surface. Blending is not an option and will simply leave you with a rather 'blurred' image. On this paper, I build thin layers and then leave it. Its probably the hardest to work with- difficult to correct if it goes wrong, and easy to over fill the tooth accidentally and lose that textural quality. It is also very rewarding and can help you create evocative pieces. By the way, never ever get it wet or drip anything on it... the surface will peel away leaving you with a bright white patch that can't be filled.
Sennelier pastel card- close up
Hopefully this has given you an insight into the importance of different papers. I will be going through other equipment and materials that I use next - followed by how to actually work with all that lovely material.