Alternative Papers 

Are available such as boards which are handy for framing and painting on site. Mount board and  many other materials including canvas or canvas boards can be used by painting on surfaces with  products like Canson Tex Paint or Colourfix primers. Canvas or canvas board surfaces are  required to be prepared with an acrylic base first. 

Art Sprectum Clear Pastel Primer 

Apply Art Sprectum Clear Pastel Primer over any surface including watercolour paper where you  want to apply any dry medium. This gives the right amount of tooth to the surface. 

Bright Paper 

Try using bright paper, complementary to the dominant subject matter. 

Fill the Tooth 

As you start to fill the tooth of the paper with many colour glazes, the tooth becomes filled and the  pastels start blending themselves. (Tricia Taylor) 

Paper Colour 

Is important whether it be pastel or complimentary. Assessing the dominant tone in the painting is  important as the subject will be both warm and cool e.g. hot scenes on cool coloured paper and  cool scenes on hot coloured paper. This makes for an exciting painting. 

Paper Requirements 

Pastel requires a paper with tooth to fix itself to the surface. If used on a smooth surface it has no  holding power and the pastel will fall off. Papers with a sand paper effect (more tooth) will eat into  pastels a lot faster. The more tooth the more pastel can be put on in layers. The ability of the  paper to hold the pastelis paramount. Experimenting with the various papers available is  necessary to find the one that suits. 

When choosing papers consider: 

• Texture; 

• Acid free; 

• Colour; • Weight; 

• Using the right side which is a personal preference