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  • #482127
    Bartc
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        After ruining my original pastel of a sunrise by handling the fixative wrong, this time my remake came out fine. 12×9″ Sennelier soft pastel on Pastelmat.

        See what you think.

        #927604
        Donna T
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            Vibrant colors in this, Bart! I don’t see any evidence of fixative spots, or drips or over-darkening. What did you do differently this time? Also, are these full size Senneliers or the half-stick set? I love the colors available but am afraid of the crumbling that I’ve experienced in the past with the full size sticks. Whichever kind you use, they sure look great on Pastelmat!

            Donna
            C&C Always Welcome

            #927605
            franglais
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                LOVE this, Bart!! That sky is gorgeous!! Please tell us what you did differently with the fixative! Also, what fixative did you use? The colors are all SO vibrant!!!

                #927607
                Bartc
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                    Not just the fixative was different, which was the same Spectrafix in both cases.

                    In the failed one I worked on Canson Mi Teintes paper, which was partly at fault because it doesn’t tolerate dampening, and Spectrafix is a water based product. In the second I used Pastelmat, my prefered paper, as it works beautifully AND is resistant to warping with water or liquids.

                    In the first I sprayed the fixative directly from their spritz bottle and too close and too much, while the painting was vertical. Hence it ran like crazy!
                    In the second I used a mister (works really well!) on the horizontally placed painting at a distance and did not over-spray it.

                    I can see some slight darkening of some colors, but nothing you would notice if not nitpicking.

                    I used primarily Sennelier half sticks from their Landscape 80 set. Tried a bit of the full stick Dark set, but only liked it a bit and I found them harder, not crumbly. Just my experience so far.

                    Thanks for the compliments. BTW, these are not from life nor a reference photo; the scene is completely imagined from prior nature observation.

                    #927606
                    franglais
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                        Glad to see you are using the Spectrafix, Bart. Hope you will give the Natural Glass a try and tell us what you think. Yes, I, too, learned to spray from a distance with the painting on a flat surface…. to let the mist drop down onto the painting. And the mister is the key, I have found!
                        Mike

                        #927608
                        Bartc
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                            Glad to see you are using the Spectrafix, Bart. Hope you will give the Natural Glass a try and tell us what you think. Yes, I, too, learned to spray from a distance with the painting on a flat surface…. to let the mist drop down onto the painting. And the mister is the key, I have found!
                            Mike

                            Waiting for my local art store to get the Natural Glass in. That may take a while, as so far it appears only directly sold on Spectrafix’s website. I like to patronize the local store as much as possible.

                            I do plan to run a test.

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