Pastel on velour paper
Yikes!! A student of mine gave me a piece of "velour" surfaced paper to try out. She said she didn't like it and wanted my opinion of how it works. It was so different from the sanded surfaces I use, I can't even form an opinion. I found this surface lost more pigment than it retained unless I really rubbed it in hard. Yet, the conventional wisdom on this paper is that the fibers hold a lot of pastel. So, I guess there's a technique out there I need to figure out. My rubbing made for an irritatingly soft treatment, which I could live with as an under-painting, but since I can't add any definition (because the paper doesn't take much pastel) I can't really "finish" it.
Clearly I'm doing something wrong ... anyone with experience on this paper?
5 comments:
Hi Dianne,
Surprised to see a landscape on velour paper. I used that paper years ago and it was designed for "soft" portraits. You should keep to decisive strokes, don't overload the paper or tooth and take advantage of lost edges. This paper is great for drawing "wispy hair". I used to see a lot of children, puppy dogs, and kittens drawn on this paper. This paper is not about definition, it's about cute and cuddles.
I have to agree with Larry - I didn't see any landscape works on this surface. However it does wonders for animal portraiture for those who can handle it (the surface). I'm yet to try this one...
Thanks for sharing your work,
and your thoughts, too:)
Aha! So if I come across this paper again I will try a nice little kitten. Sounds like fun! Thanks guys -- I can imagine it would be a good paper for animal hair and such. NOT FOR TREES.But, a good experience.
I have worked on valour paper for pet portraits in the past and it is great for a soft look on hair but not so great for detail. I also question the longevity of the surface and I could not set it with a spray. Love the values you created in this landscape and atmosphere looks like a sunny morning before the mist has cleared.
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