
The Truth about Soft Pastels
I also regularly use pastels to create demo pieces at events, and have no problem propping a finished piece on an easel in all its unframed glory for people to examine. In the event that I do inadvertently smudge an area, a little touch-up session with my pastels can easily correct whatever area may have gotten smudged—and again, this has only happened to me due to my own occasional slip of carelessness.
The biggest concern I hear from art buyers who haven’t purchased pastels before: how long will a pastel painting last? For some reason, pastel paintings have a reputation for being delicate little flowers that wither away with time.
It’s been proven, however, that because the pastels are created with a simple combination of pigment and binder, their colors remain brilliant and last long after oil paintings begin to crack and fade. I just wish I could set a 200 year old oil painting next to a 200 year old pastel painting, and let the buyer SEE that pastels do indeed retain their color longer than oil paintings.
To keep your pastel painting in good condition, you will need to frame it under glass (just like any other art on paper), and you probably don’t want to stick it in a place with a lot of moisture or hang it in direct sunlight. But these are common preventative measures you would take with most of your art anyway.
If you’re looking for a reason to purchase a pastel painting over oil and acrylic paintings, consider this:
Oil and acrylic both gather dust over time and need to be cleaned. Since a pastel painting is under glass, you’ll never have to clean the painting itself, just the glass on top of it!
Of course, if you’ve painted or purchased a pastel painting that isn’t in a frame, and you plan on storing it for a while, there is a special type of paper (glassine) that you will want to get to protect your painting. If I ever sell an unframed piece, I make sure it’s complete with glassine paper cover so that the buyer feels comfortable that the painting will be “safe” until it’s ready to go into a frame.
4. “Aren’t oil and acrylic paintings worth more than pastel paintings?”
I’ve heard it passed along (by teachers, no less) that pastels are difficult to sell because buyers think they are worth less than mediums such as oil or acrylics.
The truth is not so clear-cut, however.
A savvy buyer is going to recognize an artist’s skill level and uniqueness, regardless of the medium that artist chooses to use. If you’ve got a person who is interested in your pastel work but concerned about its monetary value, just share a few key reasons that pastels hold their value among buyers.