Soft pastel is one of the oldest and most luminous drawing media in the world – and one of the most misunderstood. Often dismissed as fragile or impermanent, the truth is that a well-crafted soft pastel artwork can outlast an oil painting. For Leon and Ingrid Fouché, it is the medium of choice for capturing the raw intensity of African wildlife, and understanding why begins with understanding the medium itself.

What Are Soft Pastels?

Soft pastels are sticks of pure pigment bound together with a minimal amount of gum or resin. The result is a drawing tool that is almost entirely colour – dense, powdery, and extraordinarily vibrant. Unlike oil pastels, which contain wax and oil binders, or hard pastels, which are more compact and chalky, soft pastels sit closest to pure pigment of any portable medium.

When applied to a textured surface, the pigment lodges in the tooth of the paper and builds up in richly layered passages of colour. There is no drying time, no chemical reaction, no waiting. What you see is what you get – immediately and completely.

Quick definition: Soft pastels are pure pigment sticks with minimal binder, applied directly to textured paper or board to create rich, velvety artworks that require no drying time.

Soft Pastel vs Hard Pastel vs Oil Pastel

These three media share a name but behave very differently:

Soft Pastel – Binder: Minimal gum | Texture: Velvety, powdery | Blendability: Exceptional | Vibrancy: Very high | Archival quality: Excellent (when fixed) | Best for: Painterly, blended work.

Hard Pastel – Binder: More gum | Texture: Firm, precise | Blendability: Moderate | Vibrancy: High | Archival quality: Good | Best for: Fine detail, line work.

Oil Pastel – Binder: Wax and oil | Texture: Waxy, greasy | Blendability: Limited | Vibrancy: Moderate | Archival quality: Lower | Best for: Textural, impasto effects.

For photorealistic wildlife art, soft pastel is the natural choice. The ability to blend seamlessly – building up fur, feather and scale textures in dozens of layered strokes – is unmatched by any other dry medium.

How Long Do Soft Pastel Artworks Last?

When properly framed under UV-protective glass and kept away from direct sunlight, soft pastel artworks are extraordinarily durable. Many works by 18th and 19th century pastellists – including portraits by Rosalba Carriera and Maurice Quentin de La Tour – survive in near-perfect condition today, over 250 years later.

The key is protecting the pigment layer from moisture, abrasion and light. A quality fixative applied correctly, combined with sound framing, ensures that a contemporary soft pastel artwork can remain vibrant for centuries.

Why Soft Pastel for Wildlife Art?

Wildlife art demands precision. The rosette pattern on a leopard’s coat, the iridescent sheen on a starling’s wing, the translucency of an elephant’s ear backlit by the African sun – these are not details that can be approximated. They must be earned, stroke by careful stroke.

Soft pastel rewards that kind of sustained attention. The medium allows an artist to:

Layer colour – building depth and luminosity through multiple passes of overlapping pigment.

Blend seamlessly – creating smooth gradients that suggest the softness of fur or the roundness of muscle beneath skin.

Work with speed and precision – making rapid gestural marks for texture and slow, deliberate strokes for fine detail, sometimes within the same passage.

Achieve photorealistic results – with the right paper and technique, soft pastel can produce images of staggering clarity.

Leon and Ingrid Fouché spend several weeks on each piece, working from personal field photographs taken during time spent observing their subjects in the wild. The medium allows them to translate that direct experience – the quality of light, the tension in an animal’s posture, the specific weight of silence before a predator moves – into something a viewer can hold in their hands.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are soft pastel artworks fragile?

Not when properly cared for. Framed under glass with a mount that prevents the surface from touching the glazing, a soft pastel artwork is as stable as any work on paper. The pigment does not crack, yellow or fade the way oils and acrylics can.

Do soft pastels need to be fixed?

A light fixative can be applied between layers during the working process to consolidate earlier marks. Whether to fix the final surface is an artistic decision – some artists prefer the pure, unfixed surface; others apply a final coat for added protection. Either approach, combined with proper framing, produces a lasting result.

What surfaces are used for soft pastel?

Textured papers and boards specifically designed for pastel work – including sanded papers, velour, and pastel boards – provide the tooth needed to hold the pigment. At Fouché Studios, surface selection is part of the creative process, chosen to suit the specific demands of each subject.

Find the Right Piece for You

Soft pastel is a medium that rewards patience, observation and skill in equal measure. In the right hands, it produces work of extraordinary beauty – and extraordinary permanence.

Browse the Fouché Studios collection of original soft pastel wildlife artworks and archival giclée prints, or get in touch to discuss a private commission.