How Can You Frame And Store Pastels?...
March 1, 2009
By Anna Meenaghan
This, you will find, is not always easy to do as you will soon realise. They tend to smudge with the best will in the world as they pick up specks of dirt and are quite delicate in themselves
Therefore it is quite hard to protect your work. Pastels can be harmful in fact, as the pigment in them is quite loose. You need to be careful not to inhale from the specks of these dust pigments.
Acid free tracing paper is one thing you can use to cover your work, available sometimes in stationers, as well as art shops. Newspaper too can be used to store, however, I would be too worried about the print and acids used for these to do this.
Now for those of you who want to store your art for a future date, I would suggest you use the following method. You will need tissue paper or greaseproof paper to cover your painting. Then it needs to be strapped down with masking tape to a board that is acid free.
You may decide to make changes to your work at the framing stage. A picture sometimes may take on an improved look by having second thoughts and eliminating some part of the painting.
Even a few inches can sometimes make the difference. A good way to decide upon this, is to have a frame made of card which you can look through at different angles. This way you often may decide to go with less in the frame.
Pastel does not work next to glass. If you do this you will have both condensation and find dark spots or patches on your work. To remedy this for framing, your painting would need a mat of cardboard on top to separate it from the glass.
Your painting will remain intact for years without "fixing" like this. Fixing, by spraying, is also possible if you wish, as long as you are aware of not inhaling the fumes.
Fumes can be very dangerous to your health, so really, if possible, it is better to spray outside, depending on the weather of course. Not that I always do, to my shame! Please, if you spray inside at least open all the windows.
Pastels can be quite messy and tend to create dust. This is not too good if you suffer from allergies. It is possible to buy plastic masks which will cover your nose and mouth, to alleviate the problem.
After all, you are likely to get a stuffy, blocked up nose, if you room has very little air. This is just a little bit of advice, but an important one. Be aware of your hands, pastels are messy, so give them a good wash when you take your breaks.
Therefore it is quite hard to protect your work. Pastels can be harmful in fact, as the pigment in them is quite loose. You need to be careful not to inhale from the specks of these dust pigments.
Acid free tracing paper is one thing you can use to cover your work, available sometimes in stationers, as well as art shops. Newspaper too can be used to store, however, I would be too worried about the print and acids used for these to do this.
Now for those of you who want to store your art for a future date, I would suggest you use the following method. You will need tissue paper or greaseproof paper to cover your painting. Then it needs to be strapped down with masking tape to a board that is acid free.
You may decide to make changes to your work at the framing stage. A picture sometimes may take on an improved look by having second thoughts and eliminating some part of the painting.
Even a few inches can sometimes make the difference. A good way to decide upon this, is to have a frame made of card which you can look through at different angles. This way you often may decide to go with less in the frame.
Pastel does not work next to glass. If you do this you will have both condensation and find dark spots or patches on your work. To remedy this for framing, your painting would need a mat of cardboard on top to separate it from the glass.
Your painting will remain intact for years without "fixing" like this. Fixing, by spraying, is also possible if you wish, as long as you are aware of not inhaling the fumes.
Fumes can be very dangerous to your health, so really, if possible, it is better to spray outside, depending on the weather of course. Not that I always do, to my shame! Please, if you spray inside at least open all the windows.
Pastels can be quite messy and tend to create dust. This is not too good if you suffer from allergies. It is possible to buy plastic masks which will cover your nose and mouth, to alleviate the problem.
After all, you are likely to get a stuffy, blocked up nose, if you room has very little air. This is just a little bit of advice, but an important one. Be aware of your hands, pastels are messy, so give them a good wash when you take your breaks.
About the Author:
Want to discover more interesting "How To" guides such as this one? Anna Meenaghan, the author of this guide and also a contemporary artist, runs a online art gallery where she also provides help for artists and art enthusiasts alike. As a contemporary painter I find it of great benefit to myself. Footnote by Michael Bruckner.
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