SPECTRAFIX PASTEL FIXATIVE

Will SpectraFix change the color of my pastels?

While there is a slight value shift with all types of fixative, due to the physical presence of the fixative substance surrounding the pastel granules, when tested alongside other popular fixatives, SpectraFix is the clear winner! There is little or no color change compared to the resin or acrylic-based fixatives

Please watch this video from Jason Morgan in which he tests SpectraFix against Winsor Newton Fixative and another popular fixative called Advanced Colored Pencil fixative by Brush and Pencil.

Many artists have told me that they see no color shift at all with SpectraFix. One nationally-known artist and personality in the Pastel world told me that he is delighted with SpectraFix’s non-effect on color. He said that Whites and Reds are particularly vulnerable with resin-based fixatives, often disappearing entirely after successive sprayings, but with SpectraFix they were not lost at all. Not a bit of it. The colors remained true and bright. Another pastel artist and professor of Materials and Techniques at a national art school, also stated that he felt there was no color shift at all with SpectraFix.

There are those artists who so love the soft texture and colors of unfixed pastel that they never fix their work, and use sanded, gritted or sueded paper and framing under glass. If we decide to fix, but we must learn to control our media. Just as in watercolor or oil painting, the color goes on brilliantly, but as it dries, it may dim or darken, so we must adjust our color choices as we work to achieve our desired effect. Knowing this, we adjust from the very beginning of our work and aim in a trajectory that will land us exactly where we need to be for the final effect. So it is with fixatives and pastels. We can build it from the bottom up, spraying between layers to construct a strong foundation. The upper layers might even be unfixed to assure hitting those difficult high notes, or laid on with colors that – once fixed – will be exactly the right hue.

Which papers and supports work best with SpectraFix?

SpectraFix works well on almost all papers, but there are differences. Gritted, sanded or velour papers work well, as do all watercolor paper and print making papers. Lighter papers like Canson Mi-Teintes may curl slightly, but this can be remedied by taping the edges down before spraying or spraying the back of the paper at the same time. Very thin papers, such as newsprint, rice, mulberry or laid may exhibit some curling if sprayed heavily, because SpectraFix does contain water, but this can be helped with the previous techniques. Yupo does work, but because Yupo does not absorb any moisture, the casein itself absorbs trapped moisture, for instance, under a frame in high humidity, with no space between the glass and the artwork.

Canvas or wood panels, both gessoed or unprimed, glass, ceramic, stone, leather, fabric… all can be good surfaces to use with SpectraFix. The only surface I would not recommend would be using SpectraFix as a final top layer of a flexible, yet slick surface like acrylic or oil paintings on canvas. SpectraFix does work well with oils and acrylics, but sandwich them under a layer of oil or acrylic paint, not as a final top layer, especially with a flexible support.

LaCarte sanded paper does not react well to liquids since the glue is water-soluble, although if it is sprayed and left to dry thoroughly before re-working, the pastel will adhere very strongly to the paper and easily accept more layers. However, if you disturb the surface while it is wet, the sand lifts off! So do let it dry completely, and you will have a beautiful piece of work.