NEW PASTEL PAPER TEST: PASTELGRAIN
This is a new release in the pastel world: Clairefontaine has launched a new technical paper specifically designed for pastel!
And I’m going to test it.
LES INFORMATIONS :
Here is what the label promises:
“INTENSE GRAIN PASTEL CARD”
A paper with a creative surface, easy to use for beginners and offering a perfect alternative for artists looking for strong grip and intensity.
Pastelgrain features a rougher surface that enhances texture effects and gives more depth to the artwork. Its fixing properties allow multiple layers of pastel to be applied without saturation and without the need for a fixative.
Since Pastelmat is a reference in the world of hyperrealistic pastel (as well as other styles), I will compare these two papers, both manufactured by Clairefontaine.
SHADES
For those already familiar with Pastelmat, you won’t feel out of place, because in the two pads currently available you will find the same shades, and overall the characteristics—apart from the texture—are similar.
TEXTURE
Overall, the paper feels familiar if you are used to Pastelmat. However, visually you can clearly see that the grain is more pronounced on Pastelgrain than on Pastelmat.
At first glance, I had the impression that working with fine detail would be a bit more difficult, and I thought I might not be able to create the kind of detailed subjects I usually do.
When using it, you can feel that the texture is a bit rougher, and you need to build up the underlayer a little more if you want to come back with details on top.
I tested it with a few colors. In the photo, you can clearly see the difference in fineness between the two textures, especially when the pastels barely touch the paper.
Pastelgrain has the advantage of retaining much more pigment and pastel powder, so there is much less excess pigment to remove.
Alright, making colorful scribbles that don’t really look like anything can be nice and fun, but let’s see what happens when we work with fine detail.
So I tested it with a small piece: a snow leopard portrait in soft pastel, in an ultra-realistic style.
The grain is a bit stronger, which can feel slightly unsettling at first if you’re not used to it, and you need to press a little more. But once you get used to it, you can absolutely create detailed subjects, and I also noticed that the paper produces much less pastel dust than usual.
MY OPINION
This paper is really excellent for abstract techniques with superimposed layers, or for looser, more graphic figurative techniques.
It was very enjoyable to test colors and textures to get familiar with this paper (I actually made several additional tests beyond the one shown in the photo). I think abstract artists, or those who work with a more expressive technique, will truly enjoy experimenting with this paper.
For highly detailed realistic figurative work (such as animal pastel portraits), it is not necessarily the easiest paper to use.
However, somewhat paradoxically, I would actually recommend this pastel paper for beginners. When starting out with pastel, people often apply too much pressure, and this paper retains a larger quantity of pigment and helps avoid problems caused by excess pastel dust that can dirty the drawing.
In addition, when learning the basics of pastel, it works very well.
For intermediate artists who are starting to look for greater finesse, however, I would tend to recommend Pastelmat instead of Pastelgrain, because achieving very fine textures on Pastelgrain requires a more advanced skill level. In that case, it’s better to stick with your Pastelmat.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Did you find this article helpful?
Have you already used this paper? If so, did you use it for realism or another style?
Would you like to try it?
The comment section is yours.
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Tag:material, paper, pastelgrain, pastelmat, review, soft pastel
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