Pastel Art: Painting, Drawing, or Sketch?
Have you ever wondered whether to call a piece of artwork created with pastels a painting, or a drawing? Does it even matter what you call it?
For starters, pastel paintings are definitely paintings! A medium doesn't have to come out of a tube or be applied with a brush to be considered eligible to make a true painting. Despite this common knowledge among those who appreciate pastel works, many art websites and organizations have their own differing criteria for labeling pastel works.
So how do you know whether a pastel artwork is a painting, drawing, or sketch? In this post, I'll share how I define my pastel artworks. I don't follow any official guidelines, but I do try to stay consistent with how I label my works so that they're easy to identify across my online portfolios.
Pastel Sketches:
A pastel sketch is something I created in one quick go with dry pastel, using little or no blending. It might have minimal color or broken color, but I consider it a sketch if I worked mostly in the drawing stage and maybe added a bit of color. If I blend a piece and add layers and details to it, I move it over to the painting category (even if it's a small piece and I finished quickly!) If I use fixative during the process, I'm not likely to consider it a sketch. Most of my pieces that start as sketches end up being worked either into drawings or paintings, depending on my level of focus (drawing requires me to focus more!)
Pastel Drawings:
I don't often label my pastels as drawings-- although it's more tempting to do so on Etsy, which doesn't show pastels under the heading of paintings. Here's what I consider the criteria for a pastel drawing.
My number one criteria for labeling a pastel artwork a drawing is if I did not cover the paper with pastel or use the background color as part of the picture. If I worked in several stages, but used minimal color (and focused instead on line and values), I consider the piece to be a drawing. I might tone the background with a basic color to offset the drawing itself, but usually this is done before I even begin the piece.
Another clue in the back of my mind when labeling my pastel a drawing is how much restraint was involved. If I used more restraint as I worked (which I'll confess is not my strong point), the piece was more likely to turn out as a drawing.
Pastel paintings:
The pastel painting above is small, and done mostly with dry pastel on flat canvas. What makes it a painting? For one thing, the whole surface is covered with pastel (this is actually the first thing I look at when labeling my artwork). If I used pastel over the whole surface of my work (or incorporated the tone of the paper into the painting itself), I also ask myself whether I took my piece through more than one stage of work. If I did the piece in several stages (typically drawing, underpainting, blending, and a final layer with some detail), then I consider the piece a pastel painting.
For starters, pastel paintings are definitely paintings! A medium doesn't have to come out of a tube or be applied with a brush to be considered eligible to make a true painting. Despite this common knowledge among those who appreciate pastel works, many art websites and organizations have their own differing criteria for labeling pastel works.
So how do you know whether a pastel artwork is a painting, drawing, or sketch? In this post, I'll share how I define my pastel artworks. I don't follow any official guidelines, but I do try to stay consistent with how I label my works so that they're easy to identify across my online portfolios.
Pastel Sketches:
 |
| "Raggedy Bird" (Available on Daily Paintworks) |
Pastel Drawings:
I don't often label my pastels as drawings-- although it's more tempting to do so on Etsy, which doesn't show pastels under the heading of paintings. Here's what I consider the criteria for a pastel drawing.
 |
| "Arabesque" (Available on my website) |
Another clue in the back of my mind when labeling my pastel a drawing is how much restraint was involved. If I used more restraint as I worked (which I'll confess is not my strong point), the piece was more likely to turn out as a drawing.
 |
| "Seabird" (Original Sold-- Prints Available on Redbubble) |
Pastel paintings:
If I used water or layered the pastel over acrylic or collage, then I automatically consider it a painting. Using canvas is a good clue too-- by the time I sketch something out on a flat canvas, it's going to end up as a painting just because of the amount of pastel it takes to cover all of that toothy white surface.
As you can see, I don't consider there to be any hard and fast rules for labeling my pastel works-- the only thing I do consider important is to have some sort of criteria for myself and stay consistent with it over time.
Does it matter what you call your pastel work? I believe it does! For one thing, it makes it easier to determine a price for your work. For another, it makes it easier for a collector to identify what kind of work you are selling. You might have to explain to a few people why a dry pastel artwork on paper is indeed a painting, but I have found that those people are generally appreciative of that knowledge (and your work) once you explain the process.
How about you? What criteria do you use to label a pastel artwork? Feel free to post and share here, especially if you're a pastel artist or enjoy pastel art!
Sketch, drawing or painting?
Comments
Post a Comment