Should Pastel Artists Use Fixative? I Have the Answer in This Fixative Showdown!
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- Опубликовано: 7 авг 2024
- To Fix or Not to Fix.... that is the question, and I HAVE THE ANSWER in this video demonstration on whether or not a pastel painting artist should use fixative to coat and seal their artwork.
In this video demonstration I will demonstrate 4 different pastel fixatives.
We're gonna have a little fun with this showdown of fixative competitors and I think by the end you will have a strong knowledge of why we would or wouldn't fix a painting, how to do it, and more! Hope this clears up a lot of questions! Enjoy the showdown!
Links to Fixatives Products Shown in the Video:
Sennelier Latour Fixative: shrsl.com/458y9
Spectrafix Degas Fixative: shrsl.com/458y7
Krylon Fine Art Fixative: shrsl.com/458yb
(Blair Fixative is discontinued)
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Hope you guys learn lots in this Fixative Showdown!! Let me know what you think!
Thank you. Until now I always used the vey strong hairspray, which is called Haarlack in German language. 😅
I guess I will try Sennelier now. 😉
This was a wonderful video. I have been considering using hairspray to save some money, and it can be used indoors. But the Spectrum Degas Fixative sounds even better. Thanks!
It was fascinating to see the side-by-side performance of these products! Each type of fixative has advantages for a specific medium or application, and clearly some are better suited for soft pastel. This video shows how important it is for the artist to learn the performance characteristics of their materials in order to get the best results. Some artists apply only the very lightest coating of fixative to control dust under picture glass, while others like to firmly set each application to prevent disturbing prior work in layered techniques. Thanks for this superb demonstration!
Thanks so much! That means a lot coming from you guys. ☺️👍🏻
Thanks so much for this video. I have used Krylon fixative (blue can) as a final spray, but I held the can about 15 inches away and misted the painting lightly. I did this to, hopefully, keep the pastel dust from getting on the mat. I didn’t notice a color change.
I think it’s a dream of every pastel artist to be able to “fix” our final paintings and keep the final colors and vibrancy.
Thanks again Susan. God bless you.
Thanks Rosalie… I’ll try using the Krylon spraying it further away from the painting. I know other artists have had success with it.
Susan, that intro was priceless. 😁 Loved this video, thank you!
Glad you liked it!! as you can tell, I had fun with this one!
I use Schmincke Fixative, it works great
Well that was fun and just what I needed to know. Thanks Susan!
Many decades ago I worked for a gentleman who did pastels and fixed with Aquanet hair spray. I never heard of any unhappy customers. This was in the 1970ss.
Hi @RogerEhinger-tg1hv, I never spray a fixative on a soft pastel painting since it always darkens the final image. That's groovy though! I haven't heard anyone speak of Aquanet in years. That's great!
To protect my final painting for shipping or storing, I place them in a clear plastic bag I get from www.clearbags.com/bags/flat/flap-tape/crystal-clear. I buy the bags a bit larger than standard sizes so I will have room for the painting and a piece of foamcore board cut to the size of the painting. Here is a video of my process:ruclips.net/video/4XD4SezFyBg/видео.html&t=209s
I use the Spectrafix concentrate, I mix it with everclear. I put it in a mist bottle and it works great and it also gives a bit of texture to the art so nice towork on top of.
Thank you for that demonstration! I had been wondering about using a good fixative. I will be a beginner to pastel.. waiting on my at-home studio to be upgraded. Love your artwork and you’re such a good teacher
Thank you for this fabulous demonstration!
Thank you so much, @jlighthouse9458! I'm so glad you liked it! Happy Painting!
An interesting experiment, I wish I'd had access to the Latour or Degas fixative back in the 80's!! I used Winsor & Newton's Professional Fixative aerosol, unfortunately this did darken the pastel painting, before aerosols artists would use a mouth blown atomiser!! Picture framers sometimes added an invisible gutter behind the mount to catch pastel particles, saves smudging! Loved the hat by the way :)
Thanks Alan… the hat was fun 😉 and I know what you mean about the invisible gutter to catch the pastel dust 👍🏻👍🏻
You're the cutest art teacher. Happy trails to you too. :)
Absolutely a game changer. Thank you for experimenting.
You bet! It was fun!
That was great information !!!
Love that hat !!!
Thanks! I had lots of fun making this video!
Really interesting and informative. I’m just starting to learn about pastels and this is very important information. Thanks
You are so welcome! I hope you have lots of learning time.
Congratulations Susan..! 🤠
Just in case you don't realize it, but there is something I've noticed; you may have opened the door to glazing in pastels, by using the one that darken; spray in area's to create a glazing(shadow) then complete the protective process with the other.
Just a thought. I know you're always looking for new ideas.
Glazing was another well-kept secret.
Oh yes… this illustration was so much fun. 🤠 ❤️
Excellent observation and suggestion, my friend. That could totally be a Pastel Technique used for glazing! Thanks!
That was very helpful, thank you!
You’re very welcome, Michael! It was fun to create this.
One of my favorite videos you’ve ever made! 🤠 My Latour is on the way!
Awesome Allison! I think you’re going to love the Latour fixative. As you can tell, I had a lot of fun with this video. I’m sort of a goofball.
THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!
Thank you so much, @FitForQuadLife! I'm so glad you liked it! Happy Painting!
Thanks for this great review! I’m def going to get a can of Latour spray. Sennelier is great with their fixatives. I used their D’Artigny spray to fix an oil pastel piece (as I’m sure you know, oil pastels never fully dry) and it sealed it perfectly with no perceptible change in color. I think I’ll get some of the Spectrum spray for using as I go along before I’m finished, since I won’t have to take the work outside.
This is only the 2nd of your videos I've seen, but your professionalism was immediately apparent, so your unfair initial comparison is forgiven, and I trust your conclusion. 😀
In my fearless high school years, I painted (really just drew) a beautiful pastel (my 1st & last, but award winning--go figure!). It was elderly Merlin in outer space, so lots of whites & greys & golds on black pastel paper--30"x40". After weeks of work, I sprayed it with a fixative (a popular brand I'd bought at Hobby Lobby), the whole piece, & watched helplessly for a few seconds, as ALL the whites & lights bubbled & disappeared!
I'd done it for a contest, so I had very little time to re-paint, but I did my best. It ended up looking very different because, of course, the layered brights never returned. But like I mentioned, it did win, surprisingly, but I never tried another pastel because of the fear of using fixative & not using it!
So THANK YOU for the test!
(BTW, after your 1st video, that was in my feed, I searched for a fixative test & was glad you had one! I'm over 50 now, & I may try pastels again. Also, I stored that piece in between newspapers, in a cardboard portfolio, showing people here and there, until I finally gave it away because it was holding me back.)
Hullo Susan, Wonderful round-up of fixatives! I use a workable fixative only when i need to add more pastel to a painting I am still (at times) being to heavy handed and not leaving myself enough tooth to my surface and adding some "grit" to my surface will allow me to finish a painting I may otherwise have to just give up on! I use the Krylon for this mostly as I am adding more pastel it is OK if some of it get a bit darker as I can lighten it up if I need to do so! I have used the Degas but I think they just underwent a name change to Degas as I remember it was just SpectraFix Fixative as it is a casein milk solution and had been around for years and is quite good! I have used it on watercolor paintings, when I did not want to use wax! Thank you for this wonderful showdown! You did a fantastic job!
Thanks so much, my friend!
Ive tried lascaux and love it! Expensive but worth it.
One thing that I had learned from the Spectrafix owner directly was to let the painting dry naturally and fully. There is a final fixative that is also put into the atomizer and it is just concentrated and so instead of coating it several times just a final time will work. The workable fixative is just for once or twice during the process but it is not the final fixative and my work doesn’t darken.😊
Thanks so much for that! I need to get that final fixative product.
great video!
Thanks so much Kate It was sort of fun making this one.
Wow I’m going to have to buy some of the sennelier fixative it is amazing how it didn’t change the color of the pastel
I know, I’m very impressed with it so far. I’d still be light handed with the applications though.
You are fun!
Can you frame soft pastel paintings with glass, without fixative?
I couldn't because the dust would stick to the glass, especially on static acrylic glass. That's very bad.
I LOVE the Degas fixative. It's the only thing I use.
I use Grumbacher workable fixative... but only usually between the underpainting and final layers to be able to add small details
I have the same favorite for the same reason you gave
Jason Morgan's current favorite is Clairefontaine Pastel Revolution Freezer, but it doesn't seem to be available in the USA.
awesome :)
I often work on hot press watercolor paper and get an extremely soft, even color, with only 2-3 layers of pastel. I have found that using the LaTour as a final fixative did very visibly granulate my smoothest blends, ruining a couple of my paintings. I used it as a final fixative on paintings that had a bumpier texture and scumbling strokes, and there no granulation was evident, possibly hidden by the texture already there. It didn't darken either type of painting.
WOW, this is really cool. Can you use these fixatives on 98 to 184lb mixed media paper with soft pastels? I'm new to all of this, thanks God Bless.
Knew you'd like Latour. I use it (up to 4 or more layers) on colorfix, pastemat, velour, everything for years.
SpectraFix does a Naturalglass spray that you can wipe down with water. I'm not totally in love with it. I takes a lot of practice.
Yes, Linda! I am definitely a fan of Latour. I’m going to keep a can of it near my easel at all times now.👏👍🏻☺️❤️
Dear Susan, I use fixative to keep my pastel drawn images. But I don't use professional fixative. I use high quality hair styling spray for this purpose. It preserves colours and picture.
It smells good, doesn't left any dark or dirty trace on my works. Tere is a problem with making pale the light colours. I need to refresh them after first spraying. And then fix it again.
I’ve actually heard of using hairspray before. That’s a great technique! I’ll have to give it a try. Thanks Lesya!
what brand of high quality hair spray do you use?
@@suzannejohnson3335 Intesa Styling Ecofix
I've heard hair spray isn't archival - will eventually yellow
@@charleneorourke5795 I have used it for three years. And everything is ok.
To be sure I have no clue what I'm talking about but you did in passing comment about spraying the finished piece then going over it again. Sounds good . I would think one could refurbish the schimmering brights and what gets slightly rubbed may make considerable indifference. What say you?
I rarely spray a finished piece, but I think this Latour product might work fine as long as you spray a light coating. I do, however, like to spray fixative, sometimes during the working stages of a painting. It adds a little bit more texture to the surface so you can get additional layering.
My question is what happens over time? I have some acrylic products that yellowed over a few years and that was from age, they were not in light.
Have you tried Natural Glass? It is also by Spectrafix, also all natural and I have had great luck with it. Some artists have sprayed their work a couple of coats with it to fix the pastel and then, after it is fully dry, brush a top coat on it. I have not tried it yet. It’s supposed to eliminate the need to frame under glass. Again, I have only tried spraying it.
I haven’t tried the natural glass, and it would be amazing if we could find something that would not alter the final painting and preserve it in a way that it doesn’t need Framing. I haven’t had any luck so far, but I’ll keep trying!
I don’t use Fixative except when I need to layer my pastels on paper.
I liken the effect of using fixative by looking at sand. Dry sand sparkles and wet sand just looks dull and flat.
Once I have finished and packed a pastel to a client or framer, I always tape a notice on the front stating (in BOLD RED letters) the painting is not fixed and not to touch the painted surface.
🙂 🙂 🙂 ❤, @jdred1950
Thank you Susan. A quick question - Sennelier LaCarte pastel paper cannot have any moisture on it as it gets ruined. Can LaTour be used on it?
Thanks in advance ❤
That’s a good question and I haven’t experimented with it yet on LaCarte pastel paper. I’ll have to give it a try, but I’m thinking it’s probably best not to use it. I’ll try to share my results when I can get to the experiment.
can you use clear gesso in between layers? or would you recommend sticking with latour?
Hi @findlydesign, I never spray a fixative on a soft pastel painting since it always darkens the final image. I wouldn't recomment laying clear gesso in between layers of pastels. The colors would become muddied onnce you started applying the gesso. A spray fixative in between though, would be fine. It helps to be able to get a little more tooth, so you're able to lay down more layers.
To protect my final painting for shipping or storing, I place them in a clear plastic bag I get from www.clearbags.com/bags/flat/flap-tape/crystal-clear. I buy the bags a bit larger than standard sizes so I will have room for the painting and a piece of foamcore board cut to the size of the painting. Here is a video of my process:ruclips.net/video/4XD4SezFyBg/видео.html&t=209s
I hoped this helped! Feel free to reach out if you have anymore questions! Happy painting!
What about Winsor and Newton fixative?
Hi I would love to see you do some art with the conte hard sticks on cheap paper ,I've been using paris conte sticks for years on cheap paper ,hard pastels last ages and I can do brilliant art ,it's a godsend for those struggling with money 😅😅😊😊😊😊
Great idea! I love to share economical options for Artists on a budget. I’ve always been on a budget and I’m thankful now to be able to get some art supplies for free to do product reviews. I actually have a few videos using prismacolor Nupastels on inexpensive paper. but now you’ve motivated me to do more.
What if you use oil pastels with soft pastels, which would also include pastel pencils? Which fixative would you use if you have a piece with both oil pastels and soft pastels? I love working with them together. That's probably the wrong way to use them, but I see pastel artist who use oil pastels and then do detail work with colored pencils, (like Prisma and Faber Castell Polychromos) and pastel pencils, (Faber-Castel Pitt Pencils and Stabillo Carbetheos),. So, I have assumed soft pastels would be ok too use with the oil pastels. But I haven't been able to find any information on what kind of fixative to use if you mix these.
Hi @ValleyMermaid, I never spray a fixative on a soft pastel painting since it always darkens the final image. I also don't use oil pastels, so I can't really speak on them. I'm so sorry. :)
To protect my final painting for shipping or storing, I place them in a clear plastic bag I get from www.clearbags.com/bags/flat/flap-tape/crystal-clear. I buy the bags a bit larger than standard sizes so I will have room for the painting and a piece of foamcore board cut to the size of the painting. Here is a video of my process:ruclips.net/video/4XD4SezFyBg/видео.html&t=209s
Too bad you missed Spectrafix Natural Glass (in the mixed version it's called Final Fixative) in the mist bottle. That might have changed your ranking!
Wow… thanks Bart… gotta try that. I do love the Spectrafix product.
Have you tried Lascaux ? I tried Spectra fix once, and my painting wept, so I had to repair it. I haven't used it since.
I use Lascaux and love it! Expensive and I have to mask up and go outside but it does not darken at all. I first did test pieces before I tried it on something I care about
No, I have not tried Lascaux. I’m glad you shared that, and I’ll have to get some.
You might like trying velour. Techniques a bit different. You rub in the first couple of layers. Watch emma colbert. I love it with very soft pastels--Ludwig, Great American, VS Spectrum. No wet!
Thanks so much, Linda… I love the work of Emma Colbert!
Do you find that the LaTour or Spectrafix granulates the pastels at all?
Actually, no… It didn’t seem to give that granulated appearance. I know what you’re talking about and the pastels in general were undisturbed. I do think I’ll still be careful about spraying the final painting though.
@@monetcafe Thanks
I did find LaTour granulated my smoothest blends, sometime ruinously. Granulation wasn't evident on pieces with a bumpy textured look.
I wish you had included a price comparison.
Good point! Maybe I can add it in the description 👍🏻☺️
Thank you but I wish you had done each fixative exactly the same.
Yes, me too. I hope to get to another demonstration where everything is apples to apples. I still believe the results would be the same with Latour and Degas Spectrafix being my favorite.
If I was half that good I would not worry about fixatives.
What else could we possibly do instead of fixatives? Covering every piece in glass would get expensive . There must be another way !
Yes, it does get expensive having to frame every pastel painting under glass. It’s my dream to find a way to hang pastel paintings like acrylic paintings. I don’t frame all of my paintings, though, I keep them in clear bags with a piece of foam core board for protection. I use this for storing my pastel paintings and for shipping them.
Fix it.. And forget it !!© 2024 k.o.f.