Clairefontaine Pastelmat Review
A UNIQUE SURFACE FOR PASTEL ARTISTS AND MANY OTHER MEDIUMS
PASTELMAT® is a premium card surface (360gsm / 170lb) specially developed for pastelists - it is also water resistant which means that it can be used with wet media such as acrylics and watercolours . Its unique velvety surface, made from a fine coating of cellulose fibers, has the ability to grab and hold multiple layers of even the softest pastels. PASTELMAT® significantly reduces the need for fixative, which means that colors remain vibrant and fresh once applied. It has the added bonus of being gentle on both fingers and blending tools.
Taken from the Clairfontaine Pastelmat website - www.pastelmat.com/
CHARACTERISTICS
GSM: 360gsm |
ARCHIVAL: YES |
ACID FREE: YES |
LIGHTFAST: YES |
costs: RRP From: £5.25 (full sheet) |
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Colours Available: 14
White, Buttercup, Maize, Sienna, Brown, Light Grey, Dark Grey, Anthracite, Light Blue, Dark Blue, Sable, Burgundy, Light Green and Dark Green (Greens not shown)
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The warm colours: Sable, Maize, Buttercup, Sienna and Brown are particularly good choices for subjects that have warm tones in them such as browns, oranges, yellows etc. The Cool colours: Light grey, Light blue, dark grey, dark blue and Anthracite are good for subjects with cool tones such as whites, blues and blacks. I think the burgundy would be a good choice for human portraiture but the colour choice you personally choose depends on your subject and I think the green tones would be great for those who like to create botanical subjects or Landscapes and we definitely a pure black sometime soon! The Pastelmat range started out with just 8 colours and recently extended to 14, the 4 NEW additions were Burgundy, D.Blue, Maize & Sable but I'm not sure when the Greens were introduced as I could only find them through the UK Teaching Art company SAA/Artifolk. It may be possible that Clairfontaine has created this colour especially for the SAA company but I'm not sure? It's good to see that the colour range continues to grow so who knows what other colours will be introduced in the future, it's great to have a choice. I am also rather excited to see the Pastelmat mountboard addition, additional strength and minimises bending.
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ADVANTAGES
* Can be used for both dry and wet mediums (not Oil paints) * Acid free, Archival, Lightfast & Water-resistant * Gentler surface on fingers for blending * Minimal dust * It is pretty tough and doesn't buckle if using it for wet media such as watercolours * Easily available * Also available as a 3mm thickness board * Grips colour very well * Easy to lift colour out of mediums mixed with water |
DISADVANTAGES
* No pure black colour available * A finer grain means less layers can be applied when using Pastels before saturation, unlike some heavier grain papers * It can be expensive * First layer blending can prove difficult when using with Pastels * Will wear coloured pencils down quicker due to the grit * Acrylic paints can drag on application unless mixed more with water |
Pastelmat is a universal paper that can be used with various mediums - although primarily used by Pastel Artists it can also be used with Coloured pencils, Watercolours, Oil pastels, Panpastel, Charcoal, Acrylics as well as Mixed Media and I have heard that pastel tutors who do demonstrations throughout various Art clubs will actually scrub their pastelmat sheet clean to re-use it at their next demonstration! I haven't tried it myself but it proves how tough and durable this paper is. I also found someone on the Internet who had hung a small piece of Pastelmat Anthracite in a window for a year, with no colour change whatsoever! Now that IS good to know!
So, What can be achieved?
After spending some time searching the Internet for information about Pastelmat, it seems this 'paper' is extremely popular and well loved, especially by Pastel Artists. It is very smooth yet has a firm tooth that holds pastel well without the need for fixative. You can blend pastels easily without losing the skin off your fingers as some coarser pastel papers can do and the final result is very much what I would class as a 'romantic' finish, much like an airbrushed effect, yet with the ability to create extremely high and realistic detail too if that is your style. I don't use Pastels anymore as my partner and fellow Artist John Graham is far better with them than I ever was so leave him to get his hands dirty! He used to work on Velour but changed over to Pastelmat a few years ago as pastel drop was minimal and the paper is far sturdier.
It works for John but let's actually see what this paper can offer us many and varied Artists....
It works for John but let's actually see what this paper can offer us many and varied Artists....
Blendibility
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This background was created using Unison pastels and as you can see it has created an incredibly smooth tonal background with no hard transition. TIP: If applying tonal backgrounds such as this, I would recommend 2 - 3 colours are laid down first and then blended together as the surface seriously grabs initial layers and so attempting to blend one layer will prove quite difficult.
Lay down all your background colours and then blend.
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High detail, soft detail, vibrant colour
Lakeland Terrier by John Graham Art
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Used with Soft PastelsThe capabilities of pastels on Pastelmat is vast which is why it is probably classed primarily as a paper for Pastellists. You can create hard, vibrant abstract portraits, highly realistic and detailed portraits or a softer, more expressive type of portrait - even all 3 together if you so wished. This portrait of a Lakeland Terrier created by John Graham Art combines both soft and hard pastels as well as Pastel pencils. The background offers a soft focal effect whilst the subject itself is highly detailed. There is minimal dust drop on Pastelmat as it grips the pastel well. The fine grain of the paper allows extremely fine details to be created using pastel pencils without wearing them down as quickly as some coarser pastel papers will.
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What about other mediums?
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Used with coloured pencilsI am a great fan of COLOURFIX paper and Pastelmat resembles Colourfix paper quite closely although the tooth on Pastelmat is slightly smoother. When using Coloured pencils on this surface, it creates strong and vibrant colours and great detail can be achieved with little effort, however like Colourfix it is impossible to fill in all those tiny gaps of the tooth to create a smooth transition like you can with Pastels. The grain can be seen at the tips of the white fur on this picture and no matter how hard I tried, I just could not completely fill in the tooth in the blue eye. It is all about adapting and working your medium with this paper, I still really like the effects of it!
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Used with Acrylic or Watercolour paintsYou can use Acrylic paints on Pastelmat but unless they have been mixed with water beforehand the paintbrush will drag the paint along the grain of the paper leaving it blotchy. Using Acrylics on this paper will create an interesting texture to your work and you can also use Coloured pencils over the top for the finer details if you wish. After mixing 50/50 Acrylics/water to the brush, I found that colours easily blended and I was able to lift out colour too in places, this makes it an ideal paper for watercolourists that like to create highly detailed works and although bleeding occurs, it is minimal.
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Used with Watercolour pencilsGraphitint pencils are much like Inktense pencils in the way they work, the colour is applied and can then be mixed with water to create a watercolour effect drawing that offers a hint of Graphite. This paper grabs colour immediately with minimal application and once mixed with water, the colour becomes far more vibrant. The support offers an additional slight texture (upon very close inspection) which can add interest to the portrait and it is easy to lift colour from the surface to create highlights. You can create a stippled effect to the drawing if applying dry pencils to shaded areas which can work to a subject's advantage.
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My thoughts and findings
I think this paper is an all round surface suitable for many Artists as it is not limited to one medium but a wide variety. Every medium I tried on this paper was effective and I found myself enjoying every sample I did as the results were immediate. I like the 'grab' the tooth offers even though running a finger across the surface would make you wonder how this 'magic' paper could hold mediums such as Pastels as the grain is so fine and hardly noticeable, but believe me it holds! The other thing I really like about this paper is the weight although if you find it a little too bendy when creating larger pieces of Artwork, you can also buy it as a mountboard format which is the 360gsm weight paper adhered to a 3mm thickness mountboard to create a much firmer surface. When I used to tutor Pastel workshops, I would always use Pastelmat wherever possible as I knew it was the perfect surface for all from complete beginners to Advanced artists and no plasters required anywhere!
I would highly recommend it to anyone.
I would highly recommend it to anyone.
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