What is Pastel?

Pastel is pure pigment. A particle of pastel pigment seen under a microscope looks like a diamond with many facets. Therefore, pastel paintings reflect the light like a prism. No other medium has the same power of color or luminance. Pastel is the most stable and permanent of all painting media. Pastel (often confused with chalk, which is limestone and dye) is actually dry powdered pure pigment mixed with a liquid binding solution to form a paste. The paste is shaped into a stick and set to dry. The word pastel is derived from the French word “pastiche”.

Pastel is as close as an artist can come to painting with pure color. It is an intimate medium where the artist comes into direct contact with the work. The pastel medium has infinite possibilities because it provides extensive color choices ranging from soft to brilliant. It can be used to create either a painting or a drawing. Pastel can be combined with watercolor, gouache, acrylic, charcoal or pencil in a mixed-media painting.

Historically, pastel can be traced back to the fifteenth century. Leonardo da Vinci introduced pastel using “the dry colors method” as a highlighting technique for drawings. Pastel emerged as a major force in eighteenth century portraiture. Rosalba Carriera was among the first to work exclusively in pastel. With the advent of impressionism, new techniques appeared and subjects included landscapes and nudes. Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, William Merritt Chase, Childe Hassam, Georgia O’Keeffe, Frank Reaugh and James McNeil Whistler feature pastels among their most important works.

Many of our most renowned living artists have distinguished themselves in pastel, enriching the art world with this beautiful and lasting medium