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Friday, May 25, 2012

How to Protect a Mini Pastel Painting

'Down to the Beach'       2.5 x 3.5  pastel       sold
It's Beach time!  I will be heading to the Georgia Coast next week and it will be wonderful to see the ocean. For this trip I will be bringing my oils but I will also pack my small 'lounge chair' pastel kit. Sometimes when I go on a trip with my friends we don't even paint. We always have good intentions but sometimes we are content to take photos or walk for miles combing the beach for treasures. But I always have to know I have some painting supplies. Just to know I have them with me in case I want to paint is all I need.

So I plan to paint small. I like to paint these mini aceo size pastels. They measure just 2.5x3.5 inches so you don't need a lot of supplies to create them....just a small box of pastels, pre-cut paper, a piece of foamcore and tape or clips. When I finish painting one I slip it in between the pages of a magazine or a travel guide.

I use Clear Bags sized for aceos or Artist Trading Cards
Storing these little mini paintings is easy. I like to use clear bags by Krystal Seal. All you do is slip your art into the bag and fold over the resealable flap. I usually cut a piece of foamcore the size of the paintings to make the package rigid.  I don't have a problem with pastel clinging to the plastic. If I have to remove a painting I am just careful to lift the bag away from the painting as I pull it out.
You can find these bags at ASW Express  HERE  A pack of 250 is only $13.49

'By the Sea'   2.5x3.5   pastel    Bid HERE

'Seaside Retreat'        2.5x3.5    pastel   Bid HERE
If you would like to read more or my posts on painting minis, click on the tab 'aceo' on the sidebar.

2 comments:

Teri said...

Hi Karen,
For your travels are you bringing regular oils or water soluble oil paints? Just wondering because I have heard some pretty good things about the relatively new water miscible oils. They dry faster and clean up with water. I have not tried them, but have heard that people say they feel somewhat like real oil paint. Of course, acrylic dries fast and water cleans them up, but they are not as "buttery" as oils and dry to a more matte finish and darken quite a bit. Have fun at the beach!

robertsloan2art said...

That's a perfect system for protecting a pastel ACEO.

I use the soft sleeve envelopes for trading cards for pastel ACEOs and the powder doesn't stick to that either - think it's the same material as the clear bags. Then I slide that into a much stiffer archival Top Loader. Both of those are archival and designed for long term storage of collectible cards.

People always ask why I use the soft sleeve if I'm just going to put it into the stiff top loader - and that is why, because the soft sleeve protects it from the inside of the top loader. The only time I lost one to damage in the mail was because it was on velour and smudged in handling. I learned NOT to use velour for pastel ACEOs.