Pastels for a Breyer horse??

Question

What kind of pastels should you use for a breyer horse(repainting) and how do you use them?? Thanks

Answer 1

I'm not exactly sure how pastels would be used.  Unless you are referring to pastel colors, and not pastels themselves!  Pastels come in two forms, oil and chalk, and neither one seems to me like it would lend itself too well to a Breyer horse.  If I were going to repaint one, I'd use acrylic paint.

First, though, I'd use a very fine grit sandpaper and sand the surface of the horse.  I'd dust it off with a wet rag to get the grit off, let dry, and then I'd prime the whole surface (assuming it was already painted) with white gesso.  Gesso is basically thick white (usually) acrylic paint that covers up a surface and primes it for the next coat of medium.  You can buy gesso from an art supply store, or online.  Use as many coats of gesso as you need to cover up the old colors, letting each coat dry completely before adding the next.

Instead of using straight acrylic paint to add color, I think I might use some glazing medium (you can buy it at art supply stores, look for Liquitex or Golden brands, as they are pretty cheap) and thin the acrylic a bit.  Maybe do 1/3 glazing medium and 2/3 paint.  Half and half will create more of a glaze, which could be useful, too.  Experiment with the paint and the glazing medium to see what degree of opaqueness or transparency you like.

As for acrylic paint, you could splurge and buy the good stuff that comes in tubes, or you could get the craft paint type that comes in little bottles.   www.misterart.com has all of the supplies I've mentioned (and more) and are VERY cheap.

Just an idea - I've never painted a Breyer before but if I was going to, that's how I'd do it!