Soft Pastel is the most widely used form of pastel. Soft Pastel Sticks have a higher portion of pigment and less binder therefore the colors are obviously brighter. Since its comparatively more loosely bound it can be easily smudged and blended,but the problem is that it also gathers a lot of dust. Drawings made with soft pastels usually require a fixative to prevent smudging.
Soft Patel-Manufacture
Ground pigments are kneaded with water to produce a dough of thick consistency . this dough is then shaped into bread roll like sticks,whence the name "pastel" from the Italian pastello, meaning "little bread roll". The French word pastel first appeared in 1675.
A pastel is made by letting the sticks move over an rough like sandboard, canvas etc. When a work is fully covered with pastel, the work is called a pastel painting; when not, a pastel sketch or drawing. Pastel paintings are saturated with colors and have the ability to reflect light.
Soft Pastel Artists
Some famous soft pastel artists are listed below:
Maurice Quentin de La Tour was a Frenchc portrait painter of the Rococo style, who worked primarily with pastels. Among his most famous subjects were Voltaire, Louis XV, and Madame de Pompadour.
Edgar Degas
was a French Painter famous for his work in painting, sculpture, and drawing in soft pastel. His early study of classical art prefaced a body of mature works which convincingly placed the human figure in contemporary environments. He is regarded as one of the founders of impressionism.
Mary Stevenson Cassatt
was an American painter. She lived much of her adult life in France, where she befriended Edgar Degas and was introduced to the wonders of Soft Patel Painting through him. Cassatt specialized in painting the social and private lives of women, with particular emphasis on the intimate bonds between mothers and children.
The versatility of this medium ensures that it finds patron in every generation since its invention.
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