Making your own pastels allows you to create them as soft or as hard as you like.
Commercial pastels have to be made hard enough to withstand breakage during shipment. As long as you're not shipping these, you can make soft pastels that are more yielding and do not dig into the under-layers of the paper as much as harder pastels do. The paint quality will be richer, and the colors more intense.
Ingredients:
- Earth & Mineral Pigments
- Water
- Binder of your choice: limestone powder, wheat paste, honey or white soap (like Ivory) - we will use limestone powder and soap in this recipe but experiment
Prep Time: 5 – 45 minutes, depending on which binder you use.
Process:
1. Scoop earth pigment onto a palette.
2. Make a well on top and add a small amount of water and mix with a palette knife to create a thick, paste-like consistency. Start with a 1:5 proportion (water to pigment) and adjust as needed.
3. Mix in a few shavings of white soap which will aid in the binding and smoothness of application.
4. Now add in enough of the limestone powder to make a very stiff paste that can be rolled and shaped into a pastel
5. Roll it into stick form in your hand or on paper, and let it dry on paper for several days.
Notes: If the dry pastel doesn’t hold together or is too crumbly you should add a tiny bit more binder such as wheat paste, limestone powder (add 1 tsp. limestone to 1 Tbsp. pigment), grated and dissolved soap, or a honey/water solution (1:5). Experiment because each pigment has different properties and absorbs liquids and binders differently.
Here is another artist recipe of pastels that's slightly different!
More of a visual learner? Check out our video tutorial here!
Interested in more recipes featuring Natural Earth Paint products? Visit our Recipes page!
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