Winsor Newton Professional Fixative Spray For Sketch & Drawing

A colorless medium that protects charcoal, pencil, pastel, and chalk drawings. Specially formulated to reduce smudging and dusting. Dries rapidly. Aerosol can enable easier & even applications.

Making the most of fixative;

Pastel pictures are fragile as the particles on the paper are not surrounded by a binder. A coat or two of fixative will give that little bit of protection, saving the picture from smudging in a portfolio or if brushed against by mistake.

A light coat of fixative will also help to stop pastel dust from sticking onto the glass once the picture is framed. A coating of fixative improves the lightfastness of pastels, this is particularly recommended for any colors which are ‘B’ rated. Too much fixative however will cause considerable color change to a pastel picture as the fixative wets out the pigment.

Using aerosol fixative:

• Use at room temperature for an even spray.
• The fixative spray should be used in a well-ventilated room.
• Shake the can before use.
• Keep the picture horizontal or slightly tilted.
• Hold can 25 - 30 cm from your work.
• For an even coating, start the spray at the side of the work and spray from top to bottom.
• Apply light coats only, to minimize color change.

Avoiding Color Change:

Some styles of pastel work look best without fixative and some artists just don’t like working with it. Here are some methods which will reduce the fragility of unfixed pictures;

• Use a pastel board, a coated board that holds the pastel better than paper.
• Use heavy-weight watercolor paper, so the work flexes less as it is moved around.
• Apply Clear Gesso Base as a pastel primer to paper. The effect will be less coarse than
• using pastel board.
• Fix between layers of pastel as you work, leaving the final layer unfixed.