More on Glassless Framing

Well, I apologize for being a little slack posting here but I've been trying to find more information on framing pastels without glass. It's become rather an obsession in a way, but I just know in my innermost being that it can be done.

One of the questions I get from other pastel artists is "should it be done?" "Why cover pastel with a protective finish?" "Why isn't glass good enough any more?" "What about tradition?"

First, let me say that I love the look of a traditional pastel. It's one of the reasons I took up pastel in the first place.

However I don't like that pastel is so delicate nor the fact that great care has to be taken to frame and protect it. It doesn't ship well, especially to countries overseas. If there's a way to overcome these negative points of pastel and still retain the beauty of it, I'd really like to know about it.

As for tradition, well - what good is a traditional pastel if it accidentally gets bumped and all the pastel falls off? Doesn't using fixative to prevent this falling off make the painting less traditional anyway? Glassless framing basically just increases the amount of fixative so that the pastel dust is completely covered.

There's lots to explore here. I paint pet portraits mainly. I doubt very seriously if I'll ever be hailed as the next Rembrandt or anything close for that matter. The average person who commissions a pet portrait from me has a lot going on in their homes. If you've ever seen a cat high on cat nip, then you might be able to see the wisdom of a pastel painting with a glassless finish!

But, I'm getting off track here. My original purpose for this post was to publicly thank all the artists who have responded to my requests for information on this subject or who have piqued my curiosity to begin with. The generosity of artists in general never ceases to amaze me.

Nicole Caulfield got the wheels turning for me when she posted about the glassless framing of colored pencil at an art forum I belong to. Of course there's a difference in pastel and colored pencil but she had some of the same issues as I've experienced - namely color shifts/darkening of the pigment and the pigment just melting away. Her posts sent me in search of other pastel artists who may have been experimenting with this process to see if glassless framing could actually work with pastel.

Gary Ruuska, a contemporary of Nicole Caulfield, and an exquisitely talented colored pencil artist himself, was the first to respond to an email from me asking about his method of sealing and varnishing colored pencil. He began with Nicole's method but eventually developed a method of his own that didn't use the smelly aerosol sprays.

I found Sandra K. Jackoboice, a pastel artist, by searching for glassless framing of pastels. She was generous enough that her process was posted on her website for download. It was her article that gave me real hope that glassless pastel framing could actually work.

Bob Palmerton is the latest artist to respond to my request for more information on his process. Because his method is specific to pastels, his very generous reply was very helpful.

William Ross with the Pastel Society of the Ozarks also responded to an email from me with information.

I just want to thank all of them for the help they've given me. Thank you all!

No Update

Sorry, I don't have an update on the little English bulldog. It's just not going well enough right at the moment and looks like a mess. I suppose I should take heart and just consider it in that "ugly stage" and work through it but I just can't make myself do it right now. The actual dog is going pretty well - it's the grass he's sitting on that doesn't look quite right. I think that may be because I only have a few shades of green in my pencil case and there are so many subtle shades in it. I've tried adding the complements or highlighting with yellows or darkening with blues but it still doesn't look like grass. And, no, I'm not trying to paint each individual blade although it might go better if I did! lol

Anyway, I've set it aside for now to keep from getting mud and have started to work on a little bunny rabbit. It's being done on Ampersand Pastelbord and I find I'm liking this support very much. I would like to use glassless framing for this piece as an experiment but am just not sure of the best way to do it.

I have an article from the Pastel Journal by Sandra K. Jackoboice downloaded from her website where she describes her method of sealing and varnishing pastel works on board for glassless framing. I'm told that Tricia Messenger also has a method for paper works but I've been unable to find anything about her method at all.

I'm also in awe of the work done by colored pencil artist, Nicole Caulfield, who uses a glassless framing method for her beautiful colored pencil paintings and I would like to explore using her method for pastel. Sandra Jackoboice says that the sealing process darkens her pastel paintings considerably and I just feel as if there should be some other means to accomplish the seal without excessive darkening of the painting. Of course, I will be using archival products so, hopefully, any method I end up choosing will result in a lasting piece of art.

I'll keep you posted on how it goes. I plan to research more before attempting anything though. The Ampersand Pastelboard I'm using is from a package of 4 (Ithink!) 5x7 inch boards in different colors. It was inexpensive enough that I feel I can experiment a little with it. But, it may be a little while as the bunny isn't finished yet anyway. If anyone has any good ideas for glassless framing, please let me know!

Until next time!