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How can I go about this? Well, you may ask, I can tell you this may not be very easy to achieve. Pastels are smudgy paints! You will find they pick up dirt specks and the paints are actually quite fragile.

The pigment in pastels is fairly loose, so bear in mind this could be dangerous. Care is needed with the specks of dust pigments. You will not want to inhale these. Therefore it can be a problem looking after your work.

Acid free tracing paper is one thing you can use to cover your work, available sometimes in stationers, as well as art shops. Newspaper too can be used to store, however, I would be too worried about the print and acids used for these to do this.

Now you can obtain boards which are acid free, so if you intend to try and store your picture for a long time then I would attach it to a board using masking tape and cover it with tracing paper or even greaseproof paper or tissue. Just remember to strap it down with a tape of some sort.

You may decide to make changes to your work at the framing stage. A picture sometimes may take on an improved look by having second thoughts and eliminating some part of the painting.

So how do you decide? In my home I have made myself a frame out of stiffish card. I place this over my work and move it over and around my work. This way then sometimes I remove some of it to enhance my work. It does not necessarily always amount to much to make an actual difference.

Pastel does not work next to glass. If you do this you will have both condensation and find dark spots or patches on your work. To remedy this for framing, your painting would need a mat of cardboard on top to separate it from the glass.

This way your painting will be fine for years to come, without fixing, as long as it does not touch the glass. However, if you really do want to fix your work, you could spray it. Some you will find, have strong fumes and I wouldn’t recommend inhaling them.

Fumes can be very dangerous to your health, so really, if possible, it is better to spray outside, depending on the weather of course. Not that I always do, to my shame! Please, if you spray inside at least open all the windows.

Pastels can be quite messy and tend to create dust. This is not too good if you suffer from allergies. It is possible to buy plastic masks which will cover your nose and mouth, to alleviate the problem.

After all, you are likely to get a stuffy, blocked up nose, if you room has very little air. This is just a little bit of advice, but an important one. Be aware of your hands, pastels are messy, so give them a good wash when you take your breaks.

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