Pastel Panels on Matting

For decades, designers have used watercolor, ink lining and decorative strips of marbled papers to decorate matting around the windows that display artwork. Probably the most widely decorated forms of art are botanical prints and other florals, fruit and bird prints. The colors and patterns chosen for the decorative panels or strips often jazz up the prints and transform them from a simple, elegant presentation into an exciting and eye-catching combination of elements.

One material readily available, yet seldom used for these decorative touches, is pastel. Fine artists' quality materials can be purchased in individual stick form and offer a wide range of colors, ready to mix and match to emphasize the tones used in the art. One professional tip: for application of the powdered pastel colors, rub the stick onto the tip of your finger. Then rub the finger against the matting in the place where you want the tone to appear. The tandem friction of rubbing the powder onto the mat and the warmth of that rubbing action bond the powder to the surface permanently. Once the area of coloration is completed, simply rub the area with a clean cotton ball to remove any excess and set the surface. No fixative is needed.

To confine the pastel powder to a specific area on the face of the mat, use strips of Scotch Removable Magic Tape. If applied carefully, you can create a stripe or channel into which the pastel dust can be rubbed and you can easily maintain clean edges and sharp corners. Should a mishap occur, and a bit of the pastel dust accidentally finds its way to the clean mat, simply erase it gently with a MagicRub eraser. Pull away the removable tape carefully and you will find your color-coordinated presentation.

Another tip is to apply the colors in defined areas along the channel you create with the tape. This will help you maintain strong, pure tones. However, if you desire a blended tone of many shades, simply rub the finished applications of powder with cotton balls. Keep the cotton clean so the colors will remain fresh.

When combined with fine ink lines around the mat window, pastel panels can be used to enhance the look of almost any artwork. Rather than use multiple layers of matting, simply adorn the surface of a single mat, and the resulting colors will be as alluring as any multiple mat. Those subjects that look best with the linear and pastel panel applications include florals, botanicals, aviary subjects, portraiture and the new trend in fruit and vegetable prints. If chosen and applied ingeniously, animal prints seem to come to life with the addition of a simple pastel panel and a few carefully drawn lines.