Pastels are by nature, the most permanent of all artist mediums because they are pure pigment rolled or pressed into stick form. Created from the same pigments used in oil paints, the dry application of pastels eliminates the problems of fading, yellowing, cracking and blistering associated with oil paintings.

The ground I use when creating my pet portraits is an acid free velour board. The soft texture, best described as velvet like, brings a quality to a pastel painting that is so lifelike, I can't image using anything else.

Working in layers, I push the pastel into the nap of the velour board which reduces the fragile nature of pastel paintings. That being said, care should be always be used when handling pastel paintings to reduce the risk of damaging the painting.