Artist - Nancy E. von Hone

The word “pastel” comes from the French word “pastiche” because pure powdered pigment is ground into a paste with small amounts of gum binder and then rolled into sticks. Pastel paintings are created by stroking the sticks of dry pigments across an abrasive ground - paper, sand board or canvas - embedding the color in the tooth of the material. When the ground is completely covered with pastel, the work is considered a pastel painting.