Clairfontaine Pastelmat- the Pros and Cons
Pads of Clairefontaine pastelmat paper can be purchased from online art stores and Amazon. Here is a picture of different colored paper packs that you can buy.
What Is Paper Tooth?
If you are new to a specific medium of art you may be overwhelmed by the paper choices. I know I was!
In a nutshell, what you need to know is that every paper has a degree of tooth to it. Look at the graphic by Sarah Renae Clark, coloring pencil book designer, to see a perfect visual representation of paper tooth.
Based on the medium you use, you will need to select a paper that has the appropriate amount of tooth to it. The tooth is the grooves in the paper that will get filled up by the pigment you are using. If you select the wrong paper, your medium won’t work correctly. That said, keep in mind that artists can do whatever they want, and you will find excellent colored pencil artists that create on smooth tooth paper, for example. But in general, artists tend to stick to a paper that suits their medium.
Perfect description of paper tooth.
To help you understand paper tooth, consider a piece of printer paper that has very smooth tooth. That type of paper is not going to handle many layers of colored pencils or pastels because the tooth will get filled with pigment very quickly. Once the tooth is filled you will find it very hard or impossible to add any additional layers.
What Is Pastel Paper (not pastelmat paper)?
In contrast to smooth paper, pastel artists typically use special types of paper that are designed to hold pastel pigment well and provide a textured surface for the pastel to adhere to. In order for the pastels to “stick” to a paper, the paper must have a lot of tooth, or deep tooth as it is called in the graphic above.
Pastel paper comes in a variety of colors and textures, including sanded, textured, and velour surfaces. Pastel paper can handle multiple layers of pastel without smudging or smearing.
The drawback artists have with sanded pastel paper is that it eats the pastels very quickly due to the abrasive surface. This causes a lot of waste of expensive pastels, and it creates pastel dust which can dirty an artwork and cause breathing issues.
The development of Pastelmat was in response to the growing demand for an alternative to traditional sanded pastel paper. The French paper manufacturer, Clairefontaine, spent several years developing the product and testing it with pastel artists before releasing it to the market in 2003.
What Is Clairefontaine Pastelmat?
Pastelmat is made of cellulose fibers (from plants) as opposed to sanded pastel papers which are made with aluminum oxide and other chemicals. The result of pastelmat is a velvety surface that can hold a lot of layers.
Pastelmat comes in 16 colors. These colors come in handy if even if you are going to cover a whole sheet of pastelmat with your medium. Some artists select a mid-range tone to draw on, which can save time and also provide an undertone for the piece.
16 color selections of pastelmat. They are so beautiful I would like to hoard them all!
Pastelmat comes in three different formats: pads, sheets, and mounted boards.
Pastelmat Pads
The pads consist of multiple sheets combined into a pad. Each sheet of Pastelmat within a pad is separated by a piece of glycine paper, which is a nice paper to save to put under your hand while drawing so that you don’t smear your medium. It’s also nice to use to protect finished pieces.
Some pads come in a variety of colors- meaning one pad will have several colors in it, which can be handy. This can be a more economical choice, especially if you are new to pastelmat and want to experiment with different colors.
I like palette #1 and #2, but I haven’t tried #7 and it looks pretty interesting. I’m not a fan of charcoal gray (previously called anthracite), but I may try it again because I’ve seen some beautiful works created on it. Mostly I use light gray, light blue (very similar to light gray), dark gray and white. But I love maize, buttercup, sienna, and brown for pastel pieces.
The image below explains the different sizes and colors that the pads come in. I typcially buy the pads from Amazon or Blick Art. Currently (May 2023) they are running $28 to $64, depending on the size.
Pastelmat Sheets
The Pastelmat sheets come in the 16 colors and are available in three sizes:
9.5” x 12.5”, 19.75” x 27.5", and 27.5” x 39.25"
I buy sheets from Blick Art because I trust their shipping. You can probably relate to me getting Amazon boxes that look like elephants sat on them, so I’m not even going to chance that.
The sheets run from $5 to $29, depending on size.
The advantage of buying a sheet is that it can be cheaper, and you can cut the sheet to fit the size you need. I buy the largest sheet. I can get 4 smaller works out of it or less if I am drawing a larger piece.
Pastelmat Boards
I have a confession: I have a piece of this in the color of white, and I have never tried it.
A Pastelmat board is a piece of pastelmat glued onto a mounted foam backing that is 1.8 mm thick.
The reason I haven’t used it is because of my drawing system. I like to tape my Pastelmat to a drawing board so that I can move it around and draw in different areas of my house. I’m not sure how I would do that with the Pastelmat board because of the thickness of it.
Some artists who like to draw on the pastelmat board use magnets on either side of their drawing surface to hold it in place, but I haven’t tried that yet.
Anyway, it comes in two sizes: 19.75” x 27.5" and 27.5” x 39.25"
I’d buy this from Blick Art too, just to be sure of the shipping. It ranges from $25 to $48.
The Nitty Gritty- Positives of Pastelmat
Okay, time for the fun part- the positives of Pastelmat paper. But first a disclaimer: I love Pastelmat paper.
I have seen a lot of frustrated people on social media that don’t care for it at all. I think that’s because they haven’t figured out how to use it properly. If you are one of those folks, I hope I can change your mind.
Surface Texture:
Pastelmat has a deep tooth to it which allows for tons of layers, which allows you to achieve rich, vibrant colors and smooth transitions. The surface allows for a painterly application with smooth strokes. And it doesn’t feel like sandpaper, it feels velvety. So it’s not hard on your hands or pencils. It doesn’t create as much dust as rougher pastel papers. One more positive is that the surface allows for you to erase more easily than other surfaces. This is definitely a win, especially for colored pencil artists!
Versatility:
Pastelmat can be used with a variety of medium, including all types of pastels (soft, hard, oil, PanPastels) and most dry and wet media including: oil pastels, charcoal, colored pencils, acrylics, watercolors and gouache. I love to use pastels and colored pencils on Pastelmat.
Durability:
It’s acid free and pH neutral surface can withstand water or solvent-based washes. You can create underpaintings with solutions of denatured alcohol or other solvents and build layers on top. Pastelmat is made from a durable and long-lasting material that can withstand multiple layers of pastel and erasing without tearing or smudging.
Variety:
Pastelmat is available in a range of colors and sizes, allowing you to choose the best option for your specific project or style.
Negatives of Pastelmat
Cost:
Pastelmat is generally more expensive than other types of pastel paper, which is definitely a consideration.
Limited availability:
Pastelmat may not be readily available at all art supply stores, which can be a challenge. I think the supply is better now, but there was a period of time a year ago when it was always on backorder. Hopefully as it becomes more popular, there will be more supply.
Learning curve:
Pastelmat's unique surface texture may take some time to get used to, and you may need to experiment with different techniques and tools to achieve the desired effects.
This is the biggest negative, in my opinion. I know for myself when I first drew on it I was thinking, “What the heck?”. I was using colored pencils and the result looked so grainy. It wasn’t until I tried a few more times that I began to understand its magic. If you are struggling with a grainy look when using pastelmat check out my Quick Tips highlights on Instagram. I show some ways to help with that. I’ll also follow up soon with another blog on tips for using pastelmat.
Defects in the paper:
This is my biggest frustration with pastelmat. Sometimes you will be drawing along and you run into a rut in the paper that is hard to fill with pigment. Or there will be a black spot on the white paper where you need to draw a white paw (true story). I’m not sure why there are quality issues sometimes. It can be quite frustrating, but I keep buying it and using it regardless. And I haven’t had an issue I couldn’t cover up yet. Knock on wood.
Conclusion
Overall, Clairfontaine pastelmat is an excellent surface that allows for mulltiple layering of a variety of media. While it may be more expensive and take some time to get used to, the benefits of using this type of paper can be well worth the investment.
Did you find this blog helpful? Do you like to use Pastelmat? Love to hear your thoughts.
