Clairefontaine Pastelmat Sheet Anthracite

Pastelmat stands out as a top tier surface meticulously designed for pastel enthusiasts. Its distinctive velvety texture, crafted from a delicate layer of cellulose fibers, adeptly catches and retains multiple layers of even the most delicate pastels. Pastelmat significantly diminishes the necessity for fixative, ensuring that applied colours maintain their vibrancy and freshness. It proves gentle on both fingers and blending tools. This exceptional paper finds its perfect match with all dry media, including Pastel Sticks, PanPastel, Pencils, and Charcoal. It’s water-resistant quality opens up new possibilities, allowing compatibility with wet media such as Acrylics and Watercolour for washes and mixed media techniques.

Clairefontaine Pastel Revolution Freezer Fixative Spray Bottle: 200ml
Clairefontaine Pastel Revolution Freezer Fixative Spray Bottle: 500ml

Pastelmat Features:

• Unique velvety surface with excellent grabbing power
• Holds many layers of pastel colour
• Reduces the need for fixative
• Gentle on fingers & tools
• Premium card weight (360gsm / 170lb)
• Use with wet and dry media
• Acid Free
• Archival
• Lightfast
• Water-resistant

Pastelmat FAQ’s:

Is Clairefontaine Pastelmat suitable for pastel work?
Answer: Absolutely! Clairefontaine Pastelmat is specially designed for pastelists, offering a unique surface that grabs and holds multiple layers of pastels, whether they’re soft or firm.

Can I use watercolours on Clairefontaine Pastelmat?
Answer: Yes, Clairefontaine Pastelmat is water-resistant, making it suitable for watercolour techniques. It allows for washes and mixed media applications.

Is fixative necessary when working with pastels on Pastelmat?
Answer: Pastelmat significantly reduces the need for fixative, preserving the vibrancy and freshness of pastel colours without compromising their quality.

How many layers of pastels can Pastelmat hold?
Answer: Pastelmat’s velvety surface is adept at holding multiple layers of pastels, ensuring that artists can build up rich textures without worrying about saturation.

Is Pastelmat gentle on blending tools?
Answer: Yes, Pastelmat is known for being gentle on both fingers and blending tools, providing artists with a comfortable and effective working surface.

Does Clairefontaine Pastelmat work well with coloured pencils?
Answer: Yes, Pastelmat is suitable for use with coloured pencils, offering a versatile surface that accommodates various dry media.

Can I apply wet media, like watercolor washes, directly on Pastelmat?
Answer: Absolutely! Pastelmat’s water resistant nature allows artists to apply wet media, including watercolour washes, providing flexibility for mixed media projects.

How does Pastelmat handle multiple types of pastels, such as PanPastel and traditional pastel sticks?
Answer: Pastelmat is compatible with a range of pastels, including PanPastel and traditional pastel sticks, offering artists the versatility needed for their preferred medium.

Is Pastelmat suitable for detailed pastel work?
Answer: Yes, Pastelmat’s fine coating of cellulose fibers provides a unique surface that is perfect for detailed pastel work, allowing artists to achieve intricate and precise results.

Pastelmat Individual Sheets

Organic Velvety Surface: Pastelmat is a truly unique product with a strong, velvety surface that has more tooth than traditional Ingres papers but without the abrasive qualities of sanded papers. Pastelmat’s organic surface and powerful texture are derived from cellulose plant fibers. In comparison, sanded pastel papers, like all industrial sandpapers, are made with aluminum oxide and other chemicals to create their gritty surface.
Vibrant Color: Pastelmat’s texture grabs onto the pastel, breaking up the pigment and pulls it deep into the surface for exceptionally vibrant color.
“Painting with Pastel”: Pastelmat has a unique interaction with pastels, allowing the artist to create painterly effects with soft, buttery marks.
Blending: Pastelmat offers remarkable control, allowing for effortless, precision blending of pigments.
Layering: Supports building up multiple layers of pigment to control color tone and intensity.
No Pastel Dust: The extreme abrasiveness of sanded papers generates large amounts of dust. Inhaled or absorbed over a long period, this can cause serious health problems. Pastelists are therefore are recommended to wear masks and to work over a tray to catch dust, minimizing the amount of dust that gets on clothing, on the floor, or gets blown through the house by the heating or A/C system. In comparison, Pastelmat’s velvety surface produces relatively little dust so that such precautions are not necessary.
Erasability: Pastel can be easily and completely erased with the use of melamine foam foam sponges (such as Mr. Clean® Magic Erasers® or by spraying compressed air to remove the pastel. Although both tools remove pigment, pastels will nevertheless remain stable under normal conditions and do require the application of fixatives.
Fine- line Artwork: Unlike grittier sanded papers, Pastelmat’s velvety surface is suitable for fine line artwork.
Lower Consumption Rate of Costly Pastels: Pastelmat’s surface consumes pastel sticks at a 30% slower rate than sanded papers.
Fingertip Scraping: Fingertip blending on sanded papers is rough on artists’ skin. Pastelmat’s velvety surface is gentle.
Foam & Sponge Applicators: Pastelmat supports the use of foam and sponge applicators of applying pigment, blocking areas of color, layering and underpainting.
Non-toxic Surface: Pastelmat’s non-toxic surface is created with natural cellulose particles. In comparison, sanded papers are adapted from materials designed for industrial use. The grit on the surface of sanded papers is produced by the application of aluminum oxide, a skin irritant with a questionable safety record.
Washes: Holds up to water or solvent-based washes. This allows pastelists to create underpaintings with solutions of denatured alcohol or other solvents and to build layers on top.
No need for fixatives: Because Pastelmat’s surface pulls and holds pigment so deeply, fixatives are not needed to keep the color stable.
Mixed Media Surface: Pastelmat’s is so versatile that, in addition to pastel and pastel pencils, it will support most dry and wet media including: oil pastels, charcoal, colored pencils, acrylics, watercolors and gouache.
Supports All Pastel Types: Pastelmat supports the application of soft, medium and hard pastels, Cray-Pas® and other oil pastels, PanPastel colors as well as pastel pencils.
Acid-free / Neutral pH