You may not know what fixing is? Really it is just a way of keeping your painting in good condition.

To fix or not to fix, that is the question? Only you can decide that. Artists the world over have different viewpoints. You can fix when your work is totally finished, do a bit here and there as you go along, or simply not do it at all. Artists may feel it may not sustain it’s colour freshness.

Should you want to fix your painting without spraying, there is something you can do. A good alternative, perhaps is, to cover the painting with a sheet of cellophane paper or even tissue, then place a board on top of this and press hard. Your pressure then makes the pastel specks go more definately into the grain of your paper. Do not apply too much pressure or this could change the texture surface of your painting.

It is quite easy to fall into the trap of spraying your painting too much. Therefore, with this in mind, it is a good method to spray from behind. Really the fix penetrates through the paper and being damp it remains in place, keeping your surface safe. This seems to be a sensible way of doing it as you are not left with a skin on top of your loose pigments.

Diffusers too, are another way of doing your fixing - although sometimes you may find that these clog up. It is possible to put through thin wire after using, which then cleans them ready for the next time. Perfect fixing is not always achieved. Ideally you need to stand about 2 feet away from the painting and start spraying from the outside of the picture.

You will need a steady hand and spray backwards and forwards across your work slowly. Past the edges, but don’t ever make a stop in the middle. The aim is to keep your arm moving, but you also only want a fine spray. It is horrible if the spray sticks somewhere and ends up dripping all the way down, most probably giving you nasty dark patches.

Next step, oh dear, you want to keep your colours fresh and fix it. How do I do this? You need to do this as you work, but before you lay your last colour paint layer or do any highlighting. This then should still stay fresh.

Otherwise you are likely to find that you are disheartened by the fact that your work seems to be ruined by a dull effect. I also find that if you apply it this way, you will not have problems with new colours mixing amongst ones applied earlier.

All I can advice is, do not fix the final layer of colour if you want nice fresh colour. Fixing can be a difficult process, so I can only wish you the best of luck with it!

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