Up: [[Visual Arts]] Created: 2025-06-01 - The whole advantage of coloured grounds (the name given to all of the pads of different coloured pastel papers I’ve got) is that bits of the colour show through the gaps in the pastel marks. In other words, Karen, stop trying to put the pastel down like paint! It’s not supposed to fully 100% cover the background. - Different colours of backgrounds are going to affect the pastel colours differently, giving both the pastels and the overall image a warm or cool cast, and changing the brightness or dullness of the pastel. For example, green pastel on a red ground really pops because they are complementary colours. If you make up tint charts on the different coloured grounds you can use the ground to maximum effectiveness. This is especially important since pastels can’t be mixed anywhere other than the surface of the paper. - You can put a watercolour wash on pastel paper, but block it first (taping down the edges) so it won’t warp as it dries.