Pastels

The term is derived from the Italian word ‘pasta’ (= paste). Pastels are made up of pigments, binding agents – e.g. tragacanth gum – and sometimes fillers like chalk and talc which make the pastel chalks smooth and soft. Soft pastel chalks are also ideal for all kinds of mixed techniques.
They can be applied on top of gouache, watercolour, not too thickly applied acrylic and even oil paints and can be used in combination with, e.g., charcoal and ink too. They can also be washed with a moist brush, similar to watercolouring.

Painting surface for pastel chalk painting:
Rough paper is most suitable for use with soft pastel chalks. There are many different special pastel papers available, e.g. Ingres, velour paper, Sansfix, pastel card etc. Pastel chalk looks particularly impressive when used on coloured paper, as the surface can then actually be incorporated in the picture.