Pan Pastels Which Paper Or Support?

Georgiana, Sheena Pike is the Queen of Pan Pastels...

she has a running thread right now;
http://fineartamerica.com/showmessages.php?messageid=2878340

Pastelbord works nice, it's a clay board that is textured enough to take layers but the grain isn't as large so it gives a smoother look. Plus it's more solid than paper.

Hey Ed thanks ! never considered myself the queen of anything ...accept maybe my cabbage rolls ( they are delic) .. Truly appreciate you saying that.

Georgiana hey there! this is directly from the PanPastel site:

"An important characteristic of PanPastel Colors is that they work well on SO many different surfaces - from very low tooth to high tooth. E.g. from delicate surfaces through to toothy pastel (sand-paper) surfaces and everything in between…drawing papers, pastel papers, canvas, vellum, watercolor papers, print-making papers, cardstock, digital/ink-jet papers (matt) etc. Also, because they are not wet, PanPastel Colors don’t cause lightweight papers to “buckle”, and the Sofft sponge tools are gentle on delicate papers such as Japanese handmade papers. Each artist normally gravitates towards his or her own preferred surface. Don’t limit yourself – experiment! Some examples of how PanPastel looks on different surfaces are shown at our substrates page. Our gallery also shows the variety of surfaces being used by artists with PanPastel."

I personally use smooth Bristol ... My work is mixed media PanPastel / Colored Pencil & ink ...

PanPastels are extremely versatile there really is endless possibilities.

Also meant to mention I have tried Colored Bristol too and enjoyed it. Like I said I combine the pastel with Colored pencils. I don't believe there is a right or wrong all depends on your style and personal preference.

Ive also heard Stonehenge paper is awesome with them ... I've been meaning to try it but haven't yet.

Stonehenge paper works pretty well with them, though I prefer it for colored pencil. I have used it with colored pencil and pan pastel combined and it took well. It's a great paper and very archival as its 100% cotton rag. I use it often. Canson mi teintes is nice too, it's tinted paper and has a smooth side and a rough side so you can choose what kind of texture you are looking for and is made for use with pastels but works great for colored pencil as well. Usually when I use pan pastels its in conjunction with colored pencil or soft pastels.

Georgiana if interested:

SHEENA PIKE INTERVIEW WITH CO FOUNDER OF PANPASTEL:
http://paintdrawblend.com/2015/11/artist-qa-sheena-pike/

and this is My article in
Colored Pencil Magazine
(this one is the most informative about technique...tools etc. but is not free to the public)
The Magazine is sold as a printed version as well as available as downloadable version worldwide

SHEENA PIKE PANPASTEL ARTICLE IN THIS ISSUE:
http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/982305

@ Ed thank you! :)

@Shana, thank you also. I tended to think Pastel board.

Sheena, Sheena - ah I knew it was someone who's name started with "sh". Oh your work is gorgeous - and I'm not going to look for too long though, as I don't want to get your style in my head. Not that I wouldn't like it there, but I want to be original - I too want to do portraits in the pan pastels, but also of animals and birds as well. Much like my vintage floral ladies with flowers in their hair.

I did already think of using prismacolor pencils as well - I have pastel pencils but never find they hold well and I don't much like fixative. I will get the magazine as the technique might be different to soft pastels.

I think I might stick to board with my sandpaper (soft) adhered to it. I want soft but with tooth.

Do either of you scan yours for print here or photograph? I prefer scanning myself but sometimes the colored pencils I use reflect too much.

Anyway, thanks so much for the replies!!!!