Does surface make a difference?
Do the qualities of the surface used affect your work?
For me the answer is yes. A good surface won’t make you Leonardo da Vinci, but it helps.
On a St. Ives workshop recently we were told that Toulouse Lautrec painted with thin oil paint on Cardboard and I’ve had a go. The reason I am writing this is because I can’t muster the enthusiasm to finish it to post. The paint slides around on the cardboard, and it looks horrid at present, but I will try and finish it and report back.
I have found that at any portrait or figure drawing class I have attended there will be somebody swearing that they only ever use lining wallpaper which comes in a great big roll for sixpence or whatever. OK if you want to waste your time effort and talent working on paper that is not going to give you the best result.
I am not talking here about somebody who is short of cash and can only afford the cheapest. I havehad those times too, and would have drawn on the inside of a used paper bag if necessary. I am talking about if you are able to spend a bit on a hobby you enjoy, and in pastelling the paper does affect the result.
I am showing three pastels of the same model. In the first two I have done a light drawing in pastel pencil and then used soft pastels, the third one is soft pastel only.
(My usual mixture of Schminke, Sennelier and Unison.)
Sora 1
Surface is Clairefonteine Pastelmat. This has I think a surface of cork. In my book it’s the Queen of papers. It grips the pastel, so that it really doesn’t start to move and blend until about the third layer, but I think it gives a brightness and slightly three dimensional result.
The downside, sadly is the price. It now costs £7 a 50cm, x 70 cm. sheet from Jacksons, who usually have the best prices. But if you want clarity and brightness I don’t think you can beat it. It also has the advantage that you can wet it, so as well as using it for mixed media, a pastel failure can be washed off. A faint impression of the original drawing usually remains but with a thin coat of acrylic it is ready to go again.
Sora 2
Surface is Canson Ma Tien Pastel Paper. Of course I haven’t tried every paper available, and have used Daler Rowney and Ingres paper, but always seem to return to the Canson. It holds the pastel well, but I wouldn’t recommend more than three layers or you will be wading knee deep in pastel powder! Spraying in between coats can help, but I think it gives the sprayed layer a bit of a gritty feeling, It also tends to dissolve white pastel. As you can see, the portrait of Sora is much softer and more muted.
Cost a 50 x 70 sheet from Jacksons is around £2. (They do have special offers on this paper sometimes.)
Sora 3
Surface Sugar Paper. Not really a fair comparison as this was done, without drawing first, just using soft pastel, in the last ten minutes of the session. (Though I quite like the effect. ) Sugar paper is fine, and cheap. It takes charcoal and pastel well, and charcoal will blend quite nicely, but don’t expect a lot of blending with even the very soft Sennelier pastels on this paper – the surface will start to break up (as it does with cartridge paper)
I usually buy A2 sheets from on ebay or from Baker Ross, at about 10p. a sheet and it is very useful for warm up exercises or experiments, but I wouldn’t use it for anything important if I could help it. It is solid and natural coloured, not as scarily white as cartridge, and I use it a lot.
I also use sanded papers, which are different again, so will talk about them another time.