Studio Tips

 

Spring Cleaning Time! Time to clean your house--time to clean your studio and that includes cleaning your pastels! You can take your trays of pastels out in the back yard with the vacuum cleaner and do a great clean-up job by holding a frying-pan screen [or a window screen] firmly down over the pastels and vacuum the dust and accumulation up from the trays and sticks. Best to do this outside unless you are using a water-tank vaccum or one with HEPA filter. This can really brighten up the sticks and the containers, whether they've been sitting out all year or traveling with you! ~Donna Aldridge, M-MAPS

New Pastels: When you buy a new box of pastels, wrap them in plastic wrap and take a color photocopy of them, that way as you run out of a particular pastel, it can be easily replaced. ~Joan Macnaught, Queensland Pastel Artists of S. Australia

Lighting   "Light plays a vital role in the studio. You want a full spectrum of light falling on both your painting and your pastesl in order to evaluate and compare your colors as you work," says member Donna Aldridge. If your painting space does not have enough natural light, you will want to carefully add artificial light. Donna suggests using "color-corrected spectrum fluorescent lights, pairing a Chroma 50 (equivalent to a full-balance noon-day light) AND a Chroma 75 (equivalent to north light) in a 4-foot fixture." ~Donna Aldridge, M-MAPS

Blending Pastels  Do you often blend areas of pastel color to achieve smooth, muted effects or for your underpainting? Don't use your hands on sanded papers. PSA member, Jan Meyer, suggests using a less expenseive alternative to artist stumps and paper towels--the cheapest toilet paper you can find. The tough one-ply works well, and a roll lasts a long time. ~Jan Meyer, PSA

Softer Lines  A section of the weekend newspaper between your paper and the drawing board will sometimes give you just the right amount of "give" when painting with pastels to avoid a hard line or stroke.

Dedicate Space for Your Studio   It doesn’t matter if you have a whole room, or carve out just a corner in a bedroom, but dedicating space as your “studio” will assist you as an artist to be more serious about your painting. Being able to escape to your studio and have all your materials in place and ready to begin will encourage you to create.  Make sure you have adequate lighting and begin!~Kathy Drungilas

Maximizing Your Wall Space  I've added an inexpensive "bulletin" board to my studio to tack up reference photos and unframed artwork. I nailed two pieces of large black foamcore board about 1/3 the way up my studio wall. I then covered both the top and bottom edges with moulding from the hardware store. A finished look for about $15. Click for picture.  ~Kathy Drungilas

A Different View Assists Critiques   Keep a mirror in your studio area, facing your easel if possible.  The great Leonardo DaVinci advised, "turn your painting to a black glass [mirror] and it will appear as though another master had done it and you will see its flaws." Not only will you get a decidedly different (reversed) view or context of your painting, it can also give you the advantage of seeming twice as far away which can help you get a better overall view of your piece.

Adding to Your Collection of Pastel Colors   Buy a half-stick collection as a way to try out new colors or a new brand—these are offered by many makers, usually at a discount over full-stick prices. Shop for new pastels with a fellow artist, agreeing to cut each piece in half, taking turns to pick the first piece as a way to cut down on expensive investments in materials. ~Donna Aldridge, M-MAPS

Keeping Hands Clean in the Studio   Keeping hands and pastels clean while painting can be a chore, particularly when using the softer pastels.  Still, even wearing gloves, the fingers become covered with color that immediately transfers to the next stick of pastel picked up. Having a damp or dry, dust-accepting cloth to wipe hands (gloved or not) is a great benefit to the pastels and to our hands.

Baby wipes come in containers nicely moistened for the job, often with antiseptic additives, if those appeal to you. Paper towels, slightly moistened, work well and less expensively than store-bought wipes. Either of these kept in an opened plastic bag, to prevent rapid drying, allows you to reach in and clean your hand easily, whether working in the studio, plein air or class. Fastening the bag to your easel makes it handier still. ~Donna Aldridge, M-MAPS

Need an Odd Pastel Color   When you need a color between two existing sticks, break off pieces of both, grind carefully, mix, add water to create a thick paste, knead, form into a stick and let dry. It may help to use a plastic bag or wrap to work the mixture. ~Donna Aldridge, M-MAPS

Easel “Boats” and Floor Protection   Working with pastels can be messy—How about putting down an extra bath mat, large bath towel, or moving pad under the easel to catch falling pastel dust?  MAPS members highly recommend making “boats” out of a V-shaped fold of newspaper taped directly under the pastel painting to catch pastel dust and protect your easel tray. ~Ardis Burley, MAPS Member

If you have a Painting Tip you'd like to submit, please send to: MAPS Webmaster

Revised: April 23, 2004 All material copyright held by submitter or by MidAmerica Pastel Society.