HANDLING
COLOUR WITH PASTELS
By Sue Keeling DPAGB
I
have found the best photographic papers to use are fibre based ones
with a surface texture which will hold the pastel
colour. Of these, I myself use Kentmere Art Document, which is a
light weight rough drawing paper coated with a
non-supercoated bromo-iodide emulsion, and Kentmere Art Classic,
which is a heavyweight paper, with a soft ivory
tone coated with a warm chloro-bromide emulsion. I find that the
pastels adhere more readily to the former, but Art
Classic has a warmer base colour, which gives acceptable
results without toning.
The
original image is of
course of your own choosing, but I have found that portraits are
best suited to this technique.
Print from your negative slightly lighter than usual to avoid hard
blacks, which cannot be coloured. Develope and stop bath
as is normal for resin coated papers, but fix for 5 minutes and wash
for 30minutes. The paper creases easily when wet so
be careful when handling.
I
have found that sepia toning of the Art Document paper gives a
pleasing background which suites the warm tones of the
pastels, so the next stage is to tone with a dilute solution. I mix
my own bleach and toner using chemicals supplied by
RAYCO (see any photo magazine) as follows:-
BLEACH
potassium bromide
25 gm
potassium ferricyianide
50 gm
Water
500 gm
Dilute this mixture
1 : 9
TONER
sodium sulphite
100 gm
warm water
500 gm
Dilute
this mixture
3 : 4
(Both
these mixtures can be re used but as they age the tone becomes
darker and more golden - often giving interesting effects). To tone,
wet the print; bleach until image fades; wash; tone until image
returns; wash for 30 minutes.
Art
Classic paper does not need to be toned, as it has warm, ivory base.
After
drying the print, mount in the usual way, onto a stiff backing
board. This gives a good solid surface for colouring.
Use
only "SOFT" artist pastels (other types of pastel sticks,
i.e. "hard" and "oil" pastels are unsuitable).
Gently scribble on the colour. Do not bear on, as this
will damage the surface, and do not fill the whole area to be
coloured. Smooth the scribble into the edges with a soft cotton
brush, and then remove excess
colour by gently brushing with a paint brush, before applying the
next colour. To apply concentrated colour to small areas, such as
lips and eyes, use a stump (rolled paper stick) or "baby
buds". Clean off edge, or any mistakes,
with a soft rubber. The beauty of this technique is that, if you are
not satisfied with the colour, it rubs off easily,
provided that you did not bear on too hard when applying the
pastels.
When
you are happy with the result, the print can be fixed with an artist
fixative spray. Cover the whole print, with the spray, not just the
coloured areas, as the spray does darken the surface slightly.
Finish with a window mount to secure the edges of the print.
Kentmere
paper is available by mail order from Kentmere, or from most
specialist photographic retailers. Soft pastels, stump sticks and
fixative spray are available from art shops.
A
demonstration lecture of the above is available from PAGB Handbook
under the title "Double Exposure" and workshops can be
arranged for small groups.