How Do You Actually Fix Pastel Paintings . . . by Anna Meenaghan
What do we mean by fixing Basically it using different methods to try preserve your paintings.
As to why we fix it personal thing. Some people are of the reasoning that maybe their colours may not appear fresh. Therefore not all artists like to fix. Artists differ on this subject with some only fixing at the end others just fixing a certain segment as the work progresses.
Take a sheet of tissue paper or cellophane would do equally well. to proceed you need something hard flat to place your art on. Cover it with your paper then apply some pressure to this. This will ensure loose speckles of pastel will go into the paper's grain. However should you exert too much pressure your texture could be changing. Failing this if you do not like this method you can simply spray your work.
It is quite easy to fall into the trap of spraying your painting too much. Therefore with this in mind it good method to spray from behind. Really the fix penetrates through the paper being damp it remains in place keeping your surface safe. This seems to be a sensible way of doing it as you are not left with a skin on top of your loose pigments.
I would never say that fixing is an easy task. You can use maybe a diffuser which usually clog up. So the disadvantage being that you have to take a thin wire to them after use so they are clean for your next usage. With these stand your distance a good two feet away. Spray from this distance the outside first.
You will need a steady hand spray backwards forwards across your work slowly. Past the edges but don't ever make a stop in the middle. The aim is to keep your arm moving but you also only want a fine spray. It is horrible if the spray sticks somewhere ends up dripping all the way down most probably giving you nasty dark patches.
Next step oh dear you want to keep your colours fresh fix it. How do I do this You need to do this as you work but before you lay your last colour paint layer or do any highlighting. This then should still stay fresh.
Otherwise you are likely to find that you are disheartened by the fact that your work seems to be ruined by a dull effect. I also find that if you apply it this way you will not have problems with new colours mixing amongst ones applied earlier.
Leave the final layer of colour unfixed to obtain the best freshest result you require. For me personally I never think doing fixing is an easy task. Therefore I hope that this will help to give you a few pointers in the right direction.
If you liked this article then you can find many more at the authors website. Anna Meenaghan is an artist that utilises a great many media to bring her art to realisation. Ranging from realism all the way to art posters. So why not visit her online interactive art community How Do You Actually Fix Pastel Paintings . . .
