Hi friends, today I am going demonstrate colored pencils on Pastelmat paper by Clairfontaine.

Pastelmat is a unique textured surface that was designed for holding many layers of pastel but is also popular with colored pencil artists. It has an almost flocked feeling to it but the surface is hard and not soft like velour paper. It’s textured but not rough like sanded paper (one of my favorite colored pencils surfaces.) If you want to see colored pencil demos on sanded paper I have a blue jay painting here and a sunset here. Although these are both textured paper they are very different in how they take colored pencil.

Pastelmat allows the artist to apply more layers than they would on ordinary paper but doesn’t grab as much pigment as sanded paper does meaning you can add more thin layers on Pastel mat and it also means that it will take a lot longer to create a finished work of art. In today’s real time demo I will paint one bud, a branch and some leaves. I’m not sure how long I spent on the flowers but it was several hours. I really like the look of my painting on this paper but it sure took a lot of time. I plan on testing this paper with different pastels next to see if I like it more with those mediums.
Supplies: (affiliate links used)
- Pastelmat in Burgundy
- Prismacolor pencils
- Derwent Drawing Pencils and I also used Derwent Signature but they are discontinued. Derwent Lightfast is a great alternative.
- Gamsol *I put a small amount in a jar with a couple cotton balls to disperse the solvent and clean my brush on. It also makes it spill proof.
- References from the Artist Photo Reference: Flowers by Gary Greene
So, what do you think? Have you tried Pastelmat? I need t use it more and with other media before I make my final decision. I do like the lo of this painting but it was very consuming. Let me know what you think and til next time happy crafting!
PS I forgot to post my SatChat here yesterday so if you are looking for it you can find it on my YouTube channel.