Working with charcoal and pastel is an incredibly direct and rewarding experience. There’s an immediacy to applying pure pigment or burnt wood to paper, building tones and textures with your fingers, stumps, or the stick itself. But this very quality – the loose, powdery nature of the medium – presents a significant challenge once the artwork is complete, or even partially done. How do you protect these fragile surfaces from accidental smudges, fading, or dust accumulation? This is where fixatives enter the picture.
A fixative is essentially a type of varnish, usually acrylic-based, delivered in a spray form for these mediums. Its primary job is to bind the loose particles of charcoal or pastel to the paper’s surface, creating a thin, protective layer. Without it, a finished piece remains incredibly vulnerable. A slight brush of a hand, contact with another surface during storage, or even vibrations during transport can cause irreversible damage, blurring lines and muddying colors. Using a fixative aims to stabilize the artwork for handling, framing, and long-term preservation.
Understanding Fixative Types
Not all fixatives are created equal, and choosing the right one depends on your needs and stage in the artistic process. Broadly, they fall into two main categories:
Workable Fixatives
As the name suggests, workable fixatives are designed to be used during the creation of the artwork. They provide a light layer of protection, fixing the existing charcoal or pastel enough so you can add more layers on top without excessively disturbing the underlying work. This is particularly useful for complex pieces where you might want to build up darks over lights or layer different colors without them mixing into mud on the paper. A workable fixative allows for erasing and further drawing or painting after it has dried, although the tooth of the paper might be slightly altered. It offers minimal protection compared to a final fixative and isn’t intended as the ultimate safeguard for a finished piece.
Final Fixatives
Final fixatives are applied once the artwork is completely finished and you don’t intend to work on it further. They provide a much stronger, more durable coating designed for long-term protection against smudging, dust, and UV light (though UV protection varies significantly between brands). Final fixatives often create a harder, less porous surface. Attempting to draw or add pastel over a final fixative is generally difficult and not recommended. They also tend to alter the appearance of the artwork more noticeably than workable fixatives, sometimes darkening colors or affecting the sheen.
Within these categories, you’ll also find choices regarding the finish, typically matte or gloss. For charcoal and pastel, a matte finish is almost always preferred. These mediums inherently have a dry, velvety appearance, and a glossy fixative can create an unnatural shine, drastically changing the character of the artwork and potentially causing unwanted reflections. Matte fixatives aim to preserve the original look as much as possible, although some slight alteration is often unavoidable.
Important Information: Always ensure you are working in a well-ventilated area when using spray fixatives, preferably outdoors or near an open window with an extractor fan. The solvents and propellants can be harmful if inhaled. Furthermore, test any fixative on a scrap piece of paper with similar charcoal or pastel applications before using it on your finished artwork to gauge potential color shifts or darkening effects, particularly with delicate pastel hues.
The Art of Application: Technique Matters
Simply grabbing a can and spraying wildly is a recipe for disaster. Proper application technique is crucial to achieving effective protection without ruining your artwork. Hasty or incorrect spraying can lead to spotting, uneven coating, pooling, or excessive darkening.
Here’s a step-by-step guide:
- Preparation is Key: Work in a clean, dust-free environment. Ensure exceptional ventilation. Shake the can vigorously for the time recommended by the manufacturer (usually 1-2 minutes) to ensure the contents are properly mixed. Before spraying your artwork, always do a test spray onto a piece of scrap paper or cardboard away from your piece to ensure the nozzle is clear and spraying evenly.
- Positioning: Place your artwork flat or vertically. Vertical application can sometimes help prevent pooling, but requires careful, even passes. Many artists prefer applying fixative with the artwork lying flat.
- Distance and Motion: Hold the can upright, typically 12 to 18 inches (30-45 cm) away from the artwork’s surface – check the manufacturer’s instructions as this can vary. Begin spraying slightly off the edge of the artwork and move the can smoothly and steadily across the surface in a horizontal pass, extending the spray just past the opposite edge. Release the nozzle.
- Light Coats: The goal is to apply several very light, even coats rather than one heavy one. A heavy coat is far more likely to cause significant color shifts, create shiny spots, or even dissolve and move the pigment particles.
- Multiple Passes: Apply the first light coat horizontally. Let it dry completely according to the instructions (often just a few minutes for workable, longer for final). Then, apply the next light coat using vertical passes. Alternating directions helps ensure even coverage. Repeat this process, allowing drying time between each coat, until you have applied 2-4 light coats. Fewer coats are needed for workable fixative, more for final sealing.
- Avoid Pooling: Keep the can moving constantly while spraying. Never linger over one spot, as this will cause the fixative to pool and potentially create dark patches or rings.
- Drying: Allow the final coat to dry completely in a well-ventilated, dust-free area before handling or framing. Full curing can take longer than touch-drying, sometimes up to 24 hours.
Potential Problems and Considerations
Despite their benefits, fixatives are not without potential drawbacks. The most common issue, particularly with pastels, is a change in color value or saturation. Darks often become deeper and richer (which can sometimes be desirable), but lighter colors, especially whites and pale tints, can darken or lose their brilliance, sometimes significantly. This is why testing on scraps with the actual pastels used in your artwork is absolutely essential. Some purists avoid fixatives altogether for pastels due to this color-shifting risk.
Uneven application can leave distracting shiny or dull spots across the artwork. This usually results from spraying too close, too heavily, or not keeping the can in constant motion. Clogged nozzles can cause sputtering, leading to larger droplets landing on the surface. Always clear the nozzle after use by inverting the can and spraying for a second or two until only propellant comes out.
Health considerations are paramount. The solvents used in spray fixatives are volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and should not be inhaled. Always use them with adequate ventilation or wear an appropriate respirator mask, especially if working indoors or for extended periods.
Are There Alternatives?
Given the potential downsides, some artists prefer alternatives to fixatives, especially for pastels.
- Framing Under Glass: This is the most traditional and often safest method. Using a mat or spacers creates an air gap between the artwork surface and the glass, preventing direct contact and smudging. Acid-free matting materials are crucial for archival quality. UV-protective glass can further safeguard against fading.
- Interleaving: For storage or transport of unframed works, sheets of glassine paper (a smooth, acid-free, moisture-resistant paper) can be placed over the artwork surface. This provides a temporary barrier against rubbing but offers no permanent protection against smudging if handled directly.
Ultimately, the decision to use fixative depends on the specific medium, your tolerance for potential appearance shifts, and how the artwork will be stored or displayed. For charcoal drawings, a light application of final fixative is often considered standard practice to prevent severe smudging. For pastels, the choice is more debated, with many artists prioritizing the original color brilliance and relying solely on careful handling and framing. If you do choose to use fixatives, understanding the types, mastering the application technique, and always testing first are the keys to successfully protecting your fragile creations without compromising their integrity.
