20 year old pastel sticks Question: I have a fantastic collection of fine pastel sticks. From Schminke to Rembrant, to Windsor Newton, etc. Perhaps 1000. I had to stop using pastel due to living in very hot climates year round and limited interior work space/health. I am now ready to take pastel painting up again, and find that many sticks are pretty chalky and or dry. Is there any safe way to revive them? Thank you very much.
Wondering if living in a very hot climate, as you noted, as well as assuming low humidity, has impacted the feel of the pastels by pulling out any of the normally retained moisture from the clays and chalks that are integral to pastel formulations. Not to mention the clay component of such pigments as ochres. All those materials are hygroscopic and would readily absorb moisture until reaching equilibrium with the relative humidity of the environment. I would imagine, in that scenario, a chalk pastel in a higher humidity could have a smoother, creamier feel – versus a drier, scratchy one in low humidity. If this is the culprit, you might try storing them in a space where you can control the humidity and keep it within a range of 40-60%? Keep in mind this is my own speculation only and as Kristin states, pastel experts might be able to add to the insights and causes.
Sarah Sands
Senior Technical Specialist
Golden Artist Colors
20 years isn’t that old. I have many 45-50 years old and they are still in great shape. Perhaps since yours absorbed so much moisture as they were in a humid climate, the binder may have migrated to the surface and got blotted out, weakening the pastel.Pigment would not change, but let’s say a mold or fungus entered the humid pastel it might appear chalky.
They traveled with me from humid Central America, extremely humid and hot Asia the extremely dry and hot Middle East and then on to extremely hot and often humid East and West Africa. Sorry for my poorly written question. Some of them are rather dry (actually the softer pastels). Thank you.
Interesting….in our experience pastels do not change much at all over the years. In fact many high quality pastels are dried in ovens during the preparation process. Is it possible that certain colors have been “chalky and/or dry” since the start? We are not aware of any way to “revive” pastels but we will ask some pastel experts on our forum to weigh in on this subject.
Ah ok….sounds as if you have gotten some good mileage out of them then…I agree with Sarah that you might consider trying to store them in something akin to a humidor of sorts. If they are kept in a well sealed container/storage unit already try placing a small shallow dish of water inside and leave it for a while (do not place the water in direct contact with the pastels). This may or may not help….unfortunately you might have to look into purchasing a couple new colors here and there if they prove to friable to work with.
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