Pastel Painting

Pastel is powdered color pigment, formed into round or square sticks. The pigment is held together by binders that create soft or hard pastels. The pastel pigment is applied to papers or canvas with various levels of tooth needed to bind the pastel pigment to the paper. Some paper may resemble sandpaper in terms of the tooth. When protected by glass, Pastel is a permanent media, that never cracks or yellows.

Since Pastel was created in the Sixteenth Century, a number of great Masters including Delacroix, Millet, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, Bonnard and Whistler have produced great works using Pastel. Edgar Degas pushed the envelope of pastel painting and changed the reputation of the medium from a pale medium to an exciting and colorful art form. He is the artist most widely recognized for transforming pastel from a sketching tool into a major artistic medium.

Edgar Degas Pastels