I love pastels—and I think the main reason is that one can achieve a quality result in a short amount of time. Owing to the chalk-like consistency of the materials, it can be a bit of a messy experience in the application for the artist. Nevertheless, the finished result is   secure after having been sprayed lightly with a fixative and it can be shipped, if need be.  Each piece is sprayed lightly with a fixative and I recommend that whatever framing is done keeps the original behind glass.

I use an assorted mixture of Rembrandt, Nu-Pastel, Schminck (German) and Sennelier (French) pastels. Depending on the nature of the project I will apply them to either Canson Mi-Tientes paper (good), Sennelier La Carte pastel board (better) or Dakota Pastel Board (best!).

I appreciate the versatility that pastel offers. Having completed well over 10,000 drawings in pastel, I feel very confident in their use.