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P
astels
Section 4
Pastels Making
Making Soft Pastels
Making Oil Pastels
You will need: pigments, gum tragacanth, zinc white pigment
(whiting, titanium white, gypsum or french chalk can also be used),
blotting paper or newsprint, palette knife, sheet of glass.
1. Place two equal piles of pigment and zinc white on a piece of
paper and mix by rolling them within the sheet.
2. Divide mixture in half, one half can be used later to make
graded tones, this is done by adding a further equal amount of
white, dividing, and so on.
3. To prepare gum tragacanth (the binder for pastels) wet
about ¼ teaspoon of gum with alcohol. Add one pint of water.
Shake mixture at intervals. Not all the gum will dissolve so
strain through a cloth.
4. Place pigment mixture onto a sheet of glass and add enough of
the solution to make a paste.
5. Collect the paste on a palette knife and shape the pastel on a
sheet of absorbent paper.
6. Roll the pastel into a smooth cylindrical shape and leave to
dry.
You will need : pigment, turps, stand oil,
beeswax, tin can, tin foil to make moulds (To make mould fold a
20x6 inch length of foil into three to give a stable wall. Roll round
a piece of dowl to provide a well rounded shape. Seal end and
implant in clay or plasticine to hold mould upright to accept the
molten mixture.
1. Mix the pigment with a little turps in a can which has been
crimped to give a pouring spout. Dump onto a slab and grind
to a smooth paste. Return to can and cover to keep moist.
2. Break up the beeswax and put into a clean can. Put the can
into a double boiler and heat slowly until the wax melts.
3. Remove can from heat and carefully add stand oil at a ratio of
1:3 or 1:4, oil:wax.Enough to make a cream consistency which
will harden.
4. Pour oil/wax mixture into the can of pigment paste, it is best to
start with a 50:50 ratio. If this is not satisfactory the result can
be melted and adjusted.
5. Pour carefully into moulds. Allow several hours to harden.
