SOFT PASTEL FIXATIVE: YES OR NO? USING IT WISELY…

FIXATIVE…

It’s not easy to navigate, because there is a huge amount of incorrect, or even completely false, information circulating on the internet (and even among artists who teach) about applying fixative to soft pastel!

Consequently, there is a big debate around this famous fixative.
Should you use fixative or not on your soft pastel artworks?

There are those in favor of it and those strongly opposed to it, but you will see that simply answering yes or no does not really make sense, because the issue is much more subtle than that…

And if you are asking yourself questions such as:

Is it mandatory to fix a soft pastel artwork?
When should fixative be applied: during the work or only at the end?
Does fixative damage pastel colors?
How can you apply fixative without moving the pigments?
How far away should you hold the fixative spray?
How many layers of fixative should be applied?
What is the best fixative for soft pastel?
Can you continue working on a pastel after applying fixative?
Does fixative yellow over time?
Are there natural or homemade fixatives for pastel?
Can hairspray replace a professional fixative?
Is it possible to fix a pastel without using fixative?
Is fixative toxic or dangerous to health?
How can you preserve a soft pastel artwork without using fixative?
Does fixative change the texture of the paper for subsequent layers?
Should you fix each layer or only the final one?
Which fixative should be used to avoid losing the brightness of light colors?
Is fixative suitable for all types of pastel paper?

I’m going to help you.

Let’s explore the topic together and run a small test to better understand it…

WHAT IS FIXATIVE?

Originally, fixatives were made from natural resins such as shellac, damar gum or Chios mastic, but they are hardly ever used in this form anymore. Nowadays, you mainly find fixatives in aerosol spray form, which are more economical and easier to use. These modern versions use synthetic resins (acrylic or ketone-acrylic resins).

FOR WHICH TECHNIQUES?

You can use fixative on drawings made with so-called friable mediums: soft pastel, charcoal, sanguine, black chalk, graphite, lead, colored pencils…

“Friable” mediums are all drawing tools that deposit pigment powder onto the surface.

You can apply it on all pastel papers and other supports.

WHAT IS FIXATIVE USED FOR?

Fixative stabilizes the material and recreates a surface texture that allows soft pastel to grip again.

Fixative for pastel makes it possible to fix the powdery particles onto the surface, preventing them from moving or falling off.
It allows you to add layers, avoid the paper saturation effect and the slipping pastel effect: by applying fixative between different pastel layers, you can stack colors and details without worrying that the previous layers will mix or change.
With paper that is a little too smooth: even though I strongly recommend using paper specifically designed for this technique, some artists use other types of paper or supports, such as cardboard or kraft paper, which are quite smooth and do not grip pigments very well. In this case, fixative is useful, and sometimes even essential.
Protects from UV (when indicated). But I will explain further below why this is a bit absurd…

Do not apply fixative at the end of your artwork.
Fixative is not a varnish!

WHY ISN’T IT A VARNISH?

If it is called “fixative” and not “pastel varnish”, there are reasons.

Quite simply, it is not made for that purpose, because there is a first major problem: it changes the colors and the brightness!

A varnish is supposed to protect, unify, and enhance the artwork, not alter its values!
Even though it can sometimes be used to intentionally darken an area, fixative is primarily designed to be worked over afterward.

Moreover, even with a layer of fixative applied over the entire soft pastel artwork, once it is hung in a hallway, for example, it would absolutely not be protected from a bag rubbing against it…
BYE BYE to the beautiful pastel artwork!

Especially since the texture created by the fixative would trap dust even more easily. Whereas the principle of a varnish on a painting is precisely to protect it and allow it to be cleaned easily.

That is why a pastel artwork that will be displayed must ALWAYS be framed!
But even then, it has to be done properly:

under UV-protective glass (does not attract pigments and slows down color degradation due to light)
with a mat (so that the pastel artwork does not touch the glass, because in case of an accident with the glass, a large part of the pigments would remain stuck to it and the artwork would be damaged. So never place pastel directly against the glass!)
with a spacer (so that the few pigments that may fall over time do not fall between the mat and the glass, where they would be visible, but instead fall into the spacer channel behind the mat)
and this is optional, but really preferable for valuable artworks intended for display: choose anti-reflective glass. It allows the artwork to be seen without reflections from lights, windows, or the surrounding environment interfering with the view.
Otherwise, it is like listening to orchestral music with street noise playing over it…

There are training courses to learn how to frame artworks properly, otherwise ask a professional framer for advice!

Some artists argue that it prevents pigments from falling off, but this argument does not hold because:

If you use the right paper,
If you gently tap the artwork to remove the few unstable pigments
And if you frame it properly under glass with a spacer (which is designed for this purpose),

Then you absolutely do not need fixative, and worse, applying it would be a mistake because of the disadvantages of fixative.

PRACTICAL TEST…

Let’s move on to practice to make a real comparison! I invite you to carry out this test with several colors and with light, mid, and dark values. Apply your colors, then cover part of the area with a piece of cardboard or a thick sheet that you hold firmly in place while applying the fixative in order to obtain a clean, sharp boundary.

TEST No.1: APPLYING FIXATIVE

Difference between the color without fixative and with fixative… The result is unmistakable! It almost looks as if the paper is bent, but it isn’t: it is perfectly flat, with no shadow… And to clarify, the fixative here is dry. This is not a myth: fixative really does darken the colors…

TEST No.2: RUBBING

I placed two fingers: one on the pastel and the other on the fixed pastel, then I slid them… Once again, the difference is striking: with fixative, no pigment moved! But be careful, that still does not make it a varnish! So it should not be applied to the artwork if it is already finished!

TEST No.3: LAYERING

I carried out the test with a new layer of pastel, here in orange, which I dragged down to the paper so that it could be compared. On the unfixed and saturated surface, the pigments no longer adhere and literally slide. Whereas on the fixed area, the new layer of pigment is just as intense as on the untouched surface. Fixative recreates a surface that allows a new layer of pastel to grip.

HOW TO USE FIXATIVE?

Fixative is a very harmful product!! So taking precautions is not negotiable:

Work outdoors so you do not contaminate the air in your room.
Wear a proper protective mask against harmful gases and aerosols (don’t show up with your little mask from the famous virus…) Even if you are outdoors, without a mask, if you stay nearby you will inevitably inhale some of it! And there is no need for a drawing to understand that your lungs really do not like fixative.

To choose a gas mask: There are color codes depending on the types of gases… Personally, I chose a mask that filters the widest range of gases and fumes. You never know — it might be useful in other situations as well…

One might be tempted to place the paper on the ground and spray the fixative from above. The can is supposed to create a mist of fixative, except that there are often a few large droplets that fall.
This is not very problematic if you are trying to firmly fix a thick layer of pastel.

Otherwise, to work more delicately, the trick is to place your paper vertically in front of you (with protective cardboard behind and underneath) and direct the spray of the fixative can perpendicular to your paper, therefore with a horizontal spray. This way, the large droplets will fall onto the cardboard without reaching your paper.

Not too close so you do not flood your pigments, and not too far either, otherwise you will only fix… the air.

You should be about 40–50 cm away, but it is better to start a little farther to make sure that when you press the fixative spray, the small projections do not fall directly onto your artwork.

For large formats, spray while moving downward steadily in horizontal passes.

The movement should be wider than the format, so that when you change direction it does not overload your paper, but instead lands beside it on a protective piece of cardboard.

WHAT NOT TO DO

I once saw a tutorial video where someone explained that you should hold the sheet up in the air, tilted downward, with your arm raised at an angle, extended slightly above you, with the fixative aimed at the sheet, therefore upward… In short, instead of holding your sheet in front of you, you raise your arm a bit at 45°… But clearly, I do not recommend it, because this method does not seem well thought out:

– By holding the sheet above you (even slightly tilted), you are underneath it and some of the fixative will fall back onto you.
– By holding the sheet at arm’s length, you cannot move farther away than the length of your arm! (Unless you have a “GO GO GADGET ARM”… Who gets the reference?) And you will inevitably get fixative on your arm as well…

In short, I do not really see any advantages, only disadvantages…

DO NOT FORGET

Once finished, turn the aerosol can upside down and press for two seconds into empty space in order to purge the spray nozzle and prevent it from clogging.

You can also, just before it dries, run the nozzle under a stream of very hot water. By directing the stream into the underside of the nozzle, it should normally come out through the same small hole where the fixative sprays.

Warning: an older can of fixative may produce a less even spray and create droplets instead of a fine mist of product.

BUT… SHOULD YOU USE FIXATIVE?

It is good to know what it is used for and how to apply it, but the real question is: should you actually use fixative?

As we saw in the small test, the real issue with fixative is that it tends to alter the colors by making them slightly darker and less opaque. And it is a harmful product… So clearly, the less you use it, the better!

With very abrasive papers such as Pastelmat (Clairefontaine) or Pastelcard (Sennelier), a large quantity of pigments is held within the paper, so there is no need for fixative to build up multiple layers.

However, in some cases it can be useful to use it:

If you create abstract pastel work and want to build up many layers.
If you have a dark background that you want to fix before working on the subject, so the background does not move.
If you are still struggling to manage paper saturation and cannot start the artwork again, it can serve as a backup solution…
If you are using unsuitable paper (some papers labeled “for pastel” are not really suitable), but to preserve brightness you will need to finish with a final unfixed layer.
If you have messed up an area and cannot correct it. In that case, you will need to redraw over it.

But in every case, the final layer must remain vibrant and luminous, therefore without fixative.

In my masterclass about paper saturation, I show examples of how to use fixative wisely to recover from certain problems.

I’ll help you solve your persistent and frustrating soft pastel paper saturation problems, so you can finally work with greater finesse and far more detail. Exercises, techniques, and professional tips and tricks…

BRANDS AND PRICES

Prices can range from very affordable to four times higher.

It would be quite difficult to test them all and then wait 10 years to see whether they yellow or not, or to run truly comparative tests using exactly the same amount of product… Especially since, to begin with, I do not use it at all on my pastel commissions, and as you will see in my courses and masterclasses, when I do use it, it is only in very specific situations.

But clearly, as is often the case (not always, but often) with fine art materials, choosing the cheapest option usually means regretting your purchase.
So when you do not know what to choose and the product is difficult to test and compare: I recommend choosing a brand known for its quality

UV-PROTECTIVE FIXATIVE?

So now you understand that a “UV-protective” fixative is mostly marketing and is mainly sold to those who use it incorrectly.

A varnish is said to be UV-protective because it protects the entire surface of a painting from the outside.
However, with soft pastel, it is rather absurd to try to prevent the sun from slightly fading pigments over many years when, as we have seen, applying fixative over the entire artwork drastically and instantly alters the colors!

Moreover, fixative recreates a gripping layer meant to be worked over… so technically it ends up hidden under a new layer of pigment and therefore protects nothing from UV.

One could imagine that the UV-protective function of fixative, given that it is also used with techniques such as charcoal or graphite pencil (which do not darken), might protect a paper that tends to yellow in sunlight. But the yellowing of some papers is mainly due to oxidation, light, humidity, and heat.

TIPS:

Do a test before using it on your soft pastel artwork.
Be careful not to apply too much fixative.
If the nozzle is clogged or the product does not spray properly, you can soak the nozzle in very hot water.
Protect the area under and around your drawing.
Use fixative outdoors! It is very toxic and highly volatile, so it settles everywhere in the room.
Fixative works very well on abstract backgrounds, black backgrounds, or backgrounds that can tolerate being darkened.

AND YOU?

Was this article helpful to you?
Share your experiences with fixative… Do you often use it?
Not at all? Have you had any issues with it?
Have you tried several brands?

Comment below… 😀

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SOFT PASTEL FIXATIVE: YES OR NO? USING IT WISELY…