One could easily guess by looking at my web site that pastels are one of my favorite mediums. At my life drawing sessions I can break out the pastels and start painting without having to deal with mixing colors and cleaning up.

The funny thing about pastels is that you can never have enough of them. Every pastelist would tell you how frustrating it is not having the right colors while you’re painting. I am not the exception. My wife has rolled her eyes every time when I tell her I need to buy more pastels. I have Schminches, Great Americans, Senneliers, Unisons, Terry Ludwigs, Diane Townsends, Giraults, Mount Visions, Rembrandts, NuPastels, Cretacolors, and the old Grumbachers. However, the set that I bring to my life drawing sessions are the Rembrandts. Not that Rembrandts are superior to the other pastels, it’s the set that I started with and have come to learn how to use over time. In fact, I know each stick in my Rembrandt box so well that I rarely have to hunt for colors. I can look at the skin tone and go directly to the pastel color that I need.

Rembrandts are medium soft pastels that allow me to layer without filling up the teeth of the Canson Mi-Tientes pastel paper too quickly. I guess I started with Rembrandts because my life drawing instructor Mitch Caster uses them to do demos in class. They are relatively in-expensive so I can sketch with them without feeling like I'm rubbing money directly on paper. I started with a box of 60 portrait color set and replaced some with other colors over time. After two years I have a box of finely tuned portrait set that I like. I break each pastel in half. Half of it I use in drawing, using the side of the stick for broad strokes. I keep the label on the other half so I can tell which number it is and replace them when the other half runs out. The only chore is putting the pastels away at the end of a session. I try to wipe them off and put them back in the right place.

 

 


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William Char's portrait and figurative art work


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