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Passion for Pastels
My mother gave me my first pastels many years ago, her old set of Grumbachers that I’m still using today, but until then it was as if I’d only seen in black and white. There are no purer forms of painting mediums than pastels. They’re made with the purest mineral pigments from the earth, then finely ground and mixed (some by hand) with just enough binder to hold them together when rolled and dried into sticks. The amount of binder in the mix determines the hardness or softness of the pastel stick, so the less binder in the mix, the softer the pastel. Few mediums allow one to be as adventurous and spontaneous as pastels do, but the greatest advantage for me is the immediacy and freedom of expression that comes from working with pure, brilliant color.
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