Sandpaper X Soft Pastel - Pencils & Sticks - 2
Is it possible to paint on Sandpaper? According to an art book it is and there are many different types of paper you can use. This means those promoting Pastelmat as the one are wrong. What they used, with success, in the past will work today as well.
Read my earlier post about sandpaper x soft pastels.
I had a small piece of diner sandpaper (400 instead of 120). It was even used. I decided to try out first since my fingertips are still wounded.
This pelican is made with soft pastel pencils only. I didn't use anything to blend except for the next pencil.
The result is positive.
- There's hardly any dust.
- The pastel didn't come off as I lifted the paper.
- I can use a soft pastel sponge
- I can blend with my finger
Materials used: charcoal pencil - hard, white, yellow and orange soft pastel pencil (Conté à Paris + EP, hairspray (if you ask me no need to.
Note: The dark spots on the background are the used parts of the sandpaper.
I decided to make a second one. This time I used the soft pastel sticks instead of the pencils. Great is that many layers can be added.
If it comes to the first sandpaper drawing I didn't finish it yet. I must say the hairspray made it look better. The colours are deeper (darker). I will see if it is possible to add more colour using the layer of hairspray.
Although I visited the art shop today I didn't buy fixation. Why not? Because officially, there's no need to use it on a finished painting. It the pastel X paper works all that's needed is a frame to protect it against water and dust.
Materials: Sandpaper (400) size about 10 * 5 cm, Rembrandt soft pastel sticks , Conté à Paris and EP
soft pastel pencils, charcoal pencil - hard (better do not use it).
13-6-2026
Sandpaper, who knew?
And what is the hairspray for, if you used it? Keeping the pastels from smudging?
Also, I want to delegate some Steem power to you. You have a couple, maybe a few, accounts? Which one should I send to, if you even want it?
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It turns out that sandpaper was in use long before Pastelmat came along. Soft pastels were used alongside oil paints and, initially, applied in much the same way. The difference was barely noticeable. Later, other techniques were developed.
Since sandpaper has never been expensive – and is nowhere near as costly as Pastelmat – it is certainly worth a try.
Finer sandpaper is needed to hold the pastel in place.
It is not necessary to use a fixative (or hairspray) once the soft pastel painting is finished, although some say you should; it sounds more like a way to sell the product.
Where it (or hairspray) might help, however, is in creating an extra layer for the pastel to adhere to, which is particularly important for me when working with paper that doesn’t hold the many layers of pastel.
120-grit sandpaper didn’t work; it came off as soon as I lifted the paper. I pressed the powder onto it with my fingers and rubbed it in. Who knows, perhaps the spray will also help to ‘blow’ it in and ‘melt’ it in this case? It’s just an experiment. For now, it seems to be working fine. The colours even look better.
So my next step is to carry on with another layer and see how that turns out.
There’s a clear difference with 400-grit sandpaper, which is also easy to rub in with your fingers. Using brushes or sponges isn’t recommended, as that removes more pastel than it leaves behind.
A few days ago, I bumped into an elderly lady in the shop who said she had a box of sandpaper lying around and would bring it over. I’m curious to see how it turns out. I suspect that coarser sandpaper might also be interesting.
I’ve also coated some cardboard and paper with gesso, as soft pastels work on that too; the same appears to be true for acrylic paint and even watercolour, so I’m going to try that as well. There’s plenty of paper and cardboard, and I can add a bit of colour to it myself.
I do indeed have more than one account; wakeupkitty has the most SP and can therefore give the biggest upvote. The others are from communities where I do have a vote, but the upvotes aren’t as high. It takes a long time to grow an account to a sufficient level. I’m trying to use this account to spread the earnings a bit across the community accounts, but it’s a long road.
Thank you for the delegation. I’m happy with it, and I hope everyone I vote for is too.
Today is my water-mixable oil paint day; on Wednesday I’m painting in a group and we’re going to prepare for the 27th for a creative market – hopefully it won’t rain, as it’s been raining non-stop – and on the other days we’re mainly busy with soft pastel painting.
I wish you a very lovely and, above all, creative day/week
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Thank you for such a thorough explanation!
I love the resourcefulness of artists. I have been cleaning up my studio. Found a box with paintings on styrofoam meat trays:)
I’ll try to delegate now. Only have done this once before:)
Hi, @wakeupkitty,
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How wonderful! You've created real masterpieces. And all this beauty is depicted on sandpaper. Incredible! I'm not an artist at all, but I'm delighted. The work looks amazing. I especially liked the pelican. Beautiful!
Let me see what more I can create. I hope the elderly lady will drop her pile of sandpaper at the shop. It turns out this is what has been used and why not do it the old way if it works?
It is a nice way if refusing materials and way cheaper than the paper sold by art shops.
This is an other try. The paper is small 10 * 6 centimeters
Thank you for your kind comment.
❤️🍀
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This is a fascinating experiment! Using sandpaper as a support for soft pastels and pastel pencils is actually an excellent alternative to premium sanded papers like Pastelmat. The textured grit of the sandpaper acts exactly like a toothy art surface, grabbing the pigment from the pastel sticks and pencils tightly, which allows for rich color saturation and multiple layering without the need for heavy fixatives.
Your choice of a 400-grit over a coarser 120-grit was smart—higher grit numbers mean a finer texture, which is much more forgiving on soft pastel pencils and saves your fingertips from getting worn down. It’s also impressive that you achieved such a smooth blend using only the pencils themselves; it proves that the grit naturally shears the pastel core to blend layers together seamlessly. Thank you for sharing this practical, budget-friendly art test!"