Jackson’s large range of materials for pastel artists includes a favourite paper imported from America. UArt Pastel Paper is a high-quality, toothy beige paper that we stock in four degrees of grit.
UArt Pastel Paper at Jackson’s Art
Create your own paper colour
PH neutral and acid-free, all UArt paper is beige in colour, allowing you to prepare the background and tone the paper to your taste. No matter the grade you prefer, UArt accepts underpainting using a wide variety of media, including water, oil and alcohol. UArt paper is sturdy enough to ensure the liquid you use doesn’t damage the tooth or seep through to the other side.
Consistent paper texture
UArt pastel paper has a consistent texture across the paper with a computer-controlled electrostatic coating process and industry-leading standards to ensure a uniform, reliable grain application on every part of the paper. Unlike some paper that may have spots of varying texture, UArt paper has the same grade from edge to edge and corner to corner.
Paper grades for different needs
The UArt paper texture will hold onto pigment, allowing many layers in hard or soft pastels.
Select a texture based on the fineness of the grit you require. The finest feels quite velvety.
400 – a favourite of many professional pastel artists and ideal for those trying UART for the first time
500 – a moderate tooth for any medium
600 – perfect for those with a focus on detailed work
800 – finest tooth, popular for super fine pastel or coloured pencil application
Two other things I noticed:
I noticed that the finer the surface the more lines of pastel rubbed into complete blends, leaving no lines, see the yellow squares below.
I thought that the finest tooth was best for thin lines with pastel pencil but for some reason the Cretacolour Pastel pencil I was using drew the finest lines on the 600 grade not the 800 grade, see the fine white lines below.
400, 500, 600, 800
800, 600, 500, 400
I was surprised by these results so double checked that they were in the listed order and redid them. I think that it must be because the finer grade holds less pastel so is less dark.
Top row is 4 layers
Bottom row is 1 layer
Click on the underlined link to go to the current offer on the UArt Pastel Paper on the Jackson’s Art Supplies website.
Postage on orders shipped standard to mainland UK addresses is free for orders of £39.
6 thoughts on “UArt Pastel Paper”
Hi Julie
Thanks for the review . I’d heard of this brand of pastel paper but read comments on an art forum a few years ago that the substrate might not be acid-free. Glad you’ve cleared up that concern!
Just one query: are the paper grades labelled correctly below the second demo photo?
Hi Helen.
The order listed is correct.
I was surprised by these results at the time so double checked that they were in the listed order and redid them to be sure. I think that it must be because the finer grade holds less pastel so is less dark.
I have added this info to the blog post to clarify.
Do you send UART pastel paper to Switzerland?
Hello!
Yes we do – if you register on the website and log in it will know where you are and can give you the postage rates for the size parcel you are ordering.
You can read more info here: Jackson’s Shipping Information.
Hi there, I’m just wondering if there’s a
need for fixative with this paper? And
hopefully if not would this paper post
well once the portrait is finished?
Hi Keran
Loads of professional pastel painters that sell and post their work use one of the sanded pastel papers like UART without a fixative and the work will arrive safely in the post if you follow a few procedures.
One good way to ship unframed work safely is to tape the pastel painting down to a lightweight stiff board (like foamboard, mountboard or gator board) all along the unpainted border. If you don’t have an unpainted border you can create a tape hinge using non-permanent 1-inch wide tape, like our yellow artist tape that you would use to tape down drawing paper. With the work facing you on the foamboard, stick a 5-8cm long piece on the back at an edge with half sticking out from under with the sticky side up, then place another similar size piece of tape down crosswise over the sticky part that is facing upwards to cover it and tape it down to your board. Do this at four points on the artwork. (No tape is on the front of the work, only the back.) Then tape down on top of that a sheet of glassine larger than the artwork. Then put a second board on top and tape the sides. (Alternatively if you are using foamboard you can create a folder by starting with a piece twice the finished size and cutting only halfway through the thickness in the centre so it will fold.) The idea is to create a sandwich that will not allow any shifting which would smudge the work. You can now place this sturdy, lightweight sandwich in the postal wrapping of your choice.
If you are sending an unframed pastel you might wish to include instructions to the recipient explaining a bit about the fragile surface and advising them to get the work framed by a framer that is familiar with the special requirements of framing pastel. Rolling is not advised for the fragile surface of a pastel painting.
If you wish to do some ‘pressure fixing’ that can also help a pastel painting which you don’t intend to spray fix. Lay a sheet of glassine over the artwork and press it gently and evenly without moving the glassine. This pushes any loose pastel further into the tooth. (Always test a process that is new to you on a spare artwork.)
Comments are closed.