Choosing your Medium for your Portrait

The art buyer often needs to make some decisions when commissioning a portrait. One of the first is the Medium. I discussed this in an earlier blog, but I thought it'd be nice to show the wider view of a pastel I did a few years ago. It shows the strokes in the pastel.

Pastels are a subtle, but glorious medium. Choosing pastel sticks for a little child's portrait is a marvel. You see the buttery skin tones in the pastel boxes, but it's also deceptive as there is always so much more going on that the artist is thinking about to capture the face. I was able to study over a few summers with Constance Flavell Pratt and learned so much about the medium.

Pastels are framed with glass to protect them. I think it's the fragile nature of them that captures our hearts. However, do not let the fragile aspect put you off from choosing this medium if you love it. Mary Cassatt's pastels need no introduction and they are from the late 1800's. Pastels from about 1770 by Jean-Baptiste Simeon Chardin hang at the Louvre, as well as those by Maurice-Quentin de La Tour. I was able to see works by those artists over the summer and they were exquisite. Just remember to hang your pastel out of the direct sunlight to avoid fading of the subtle tones and also try to keep it in a low-humidity environment (never in a basement for storage.)


www.soniahale.com

Sonia Hale is an award-winning, nationally-collected artist in Boston. She paints commissioned portraits for families and institutions nationwide. Her original landscape and still life oil paintings can be purchased at http://www.soniahale.com. For more information, go to http://www.soniahale.com. You can reach her by email at soniahale1@gmail.com.

Choosing between Pastel vs. Oil Portraits

Can you tell which is the oil and which is the pastel? The boy is in oil, and the girl pastel.

I am often asked about the pros and cons of pastel vs. oil portraiture. I studied under Constance Flavell Pratt for pastel portraiture, learning the nuances of handling of this lovely, ethereal medium. I have worked in both pastel and oil for portraiture for over ten years now, and have painted in oil for decades.

Both are timeless works of art, however pastels are intrinsically more delicate. A pastel is essentially chalk on paper; though archival, elite materials are used. Like a butterfly, a baby, a rainbow, I believe we love pastels for their delicacy; how they capture a tenderness of life, but like all delicate things you have to be more watchful not to incur damage.

What do I mean by damage?

—Water/mildew: Never, ever store a pastel (or any work of art for that matter) in a basement.

—Pastels must be hung out of direct sunlight to prevent the fading of color pigments.

—The unframed surface is easily marred since most artists do not spray-fix them as that alters the delicate colors. Until they are framed with glass do not let the cat check it out! As an artist I have heard stories of rambunctious children waltzing into rooms and ruining pieces in the works still in studios.

—Take extra care when hanging/transporting the framed piece as it is in glass. At an art exhibition the organizers were trying out new hanging apparatus and artwork was dropping to the floor. I pulled out my pastel early.

Of course these types of events are fairly rare, but I feel that the ideal owner of a pastel is be a careful person who will watch out for their art and remember they must take good care of it.

Oils are more resilient and framing costs can be less for the same size piece: sometimes that can mean that it is a better "buy" to purchase the oil, if you prefer oil, as the price will be about the same as a consumer, with the purchase of the painting and the frame in total. Framing a pastel is an elaborate process of a custom-cut double matt, glass and frame. However if you want a rainbow, sometimes you are willing to go the extra half-mile for it!

Sonia Hale is an award-winning, nationally-collected artist in Boston. She paints commissioned portraits for families and institutions nationwide. Her original landscape and still life oil paintings can be purchased at http://www.soniahale.com. For more information, go to http://www.soniahale.com. You can reach her by email at soniahale1@gmail.com.