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How can I go about this? Well, you may ask, I can tell you this may not be very easy to achieve. Pastels are smudgy paints! You will find they pick up dirt specks and the paints are actually quite fragile.

Therefore it is quite hard to protect your work. Pastels can be harmful in fact, as the pigment in them is quite loose. You need to be careful not to inhale from the specks of these dust pigments.

Acid free tracing paper is one thing you can use to cover your work, available sometimes in stationers, as well as art shops. Newspaper too can be used to store, however, I would be too worried about the print and acids used for these to do this.

Now for those of you who want to store your art for a future date, I would suggest you use the following method. You will need tissue paper or greaseproof paper to cover your painting. Then it needs to be strapped down with masking tape to a board that is acid free.

You may decide to make changes to your work at the framing stage. A picture sometimes may take on an improved look by having second thoughts and eliminating some part of the painting.

Even a few inches can sometimes make the difference. A good way to decide upon this, is to have a frame made of card which you can look through at different angles. This way you often may decide to go with less in the frame.

Really you do not want your pastel next to the glass or you will see that you get condensation and then nasty spots appear on your work. If you intend to keep your pastel under glass, you would have to make sure that you have a thick card mat round the picture first.

If you frame it with the mat no problems should occur in the years to come, even without fixing it. This does not mean that you cannot fix it! Spray it with an aerosol by all means, but be careful not to inhale some of the strong fumes.

I cannot stress enough how dangerous these fumes can be to your health. Care is needed when spraying. Take your work outside if the weather will allow it. Failing this, fling open all your windows, if you must do it inside.

Remember when you work around pastels, you could be allergic to the dust they create. In view of this, and the paint fumes, I would say go out and buy yourself a plastic mask which will cover your mouth and nose.

It is quite possible otherwise that your nose will get all stuffy if there is not much air in the room, so this is a word of warning. As I said previously when you work with pastels they do tend to make a mess of your hands. I find that I take quite a few breaks for coffee, just so that I can give them a very good wash, before I continue.