Pastelmat premium pastel paper is designed to meet the specific expectations of serious pastel artists. Pastelmat's strong, velvety surface has more tooth than traditional pastel papers, but is not as abrasive as sanded papers. This allows artists to create painterly effects with bold strokes of pigment with pastel sticks, smooth textures with PanPastel foam applicators, as well fine lines with colored or pastel pencils. Pastelmat's unique texture pulls pigment so deeply into the surface, that fixatives are not needed. This acid-free paper's rigidity, weight and lightfastness, guarantee conservation of artwork. Pastlemat supports soft, hard and oil pastels, as well as watercolors, gouache and other dry and wet media. Pastelmat also supports the technique of creating base level underpaintings with water or denatured alcohol. Pastelmat pads contain 12 sheets, each separated by a glassine sheet for protection.