Please consider following me on Pinterest. And I’m delighted you have shared how you use them with us. I love that you use them in many ways . Which is your preference? Overall Best Soft Pastels: REMBRANDT Soft Pastels Basic Half Stick Set. You can’t go wrong! For me, blending is one of the great joys of pastel art. Rembrandt pastels are a soft pastel but they are on the hard side of the spectrum. Just like with the layering technique above, blending with chalk pastels works perfectly with the other techniques. Ideal for oil painting-like applications, blending and sgraffito, the quality and archival integrity of their pastels are just fabulous. But you may be surprised!! Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. The hybrid pastel core also delivers a lot of good color without applying too much pressure on the paper, which is excellent for your hands. Dominique, merci beaucoup for your lovely response. I just discovered your work recently and am now going through your previous posts (slowly, as time allows, but also relishing). Chalk pastel drawings should be done on an abrasive base which collects and holds the color. It’s just one of the things I’m confused about. Best Paper For Soft Pastels: 5 Picks Strathmore 400 Series Pastel Pad A set of professional acid-free soft pastel paper, that has 24 sheets of different neutral colors for the largest versatility possible. And finished “untouched” larger marks on top of the “greyed” small particles can yield a beautiful effect. On the UArt 400 sanded paper, some of the individual colours are seen in the blended version but the mark-making is less visible. When I teach a workshop (as many of my students will attest! Softer, gentler, kinder to my eyes….blending❤️. Chalk pastel artwork is one of my preferred mediums – being more of a drawing art form than a painting one. Like a soft more relaxing painting? Because the pastel lovers only know to pay the attention of the favor of the pastel. The right surface makes all the difference for your pastel strokes. With pastels, that may mean having an easier time blending colors together or better color saturation by using superior pastels. On the other hand, you can achieve individual strokes, creating fur movement, as well as do hard highlights. You can also blend the colors together to get the results that you desire. It’s hard to imagine needing anything else for your casual drawing needs. I agree that blending is an individual choice – you need to do what you need to do! The benefit of using these is nice clean hands. They are convenient. Look out for my monthly picks next week. The range of colors is extensive and perfect for artists on the move and sketching out in the field. For smaller areas, you can wrap the chamois around your finger and then blend the pastel. Required fields are marked *. You will find your own way as you work. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the matter Rae! It would mean so much to me. They are 55cm x 75cm in size which is very useful as you can use the whole sheet or cut it down to the exact size and format you want to use. Pastel sharpers are fantastic for blending pastel. I rarely use this paper except for teaching and exercises but thought it was a good idea to show the experiment on a non-sanded paper. I don’t blend except sometimes when I am working on skies, clouds or water. Thank you Mary for your wonderful words about the physical nature of pastel particles and how we see them. £2.20 You can easily use your fingers to create shadows and add dimension. https://bit.ly/2knBFZq Comparisons for shading: When it comes to shading, blending plays a big role in getting good results. Combine, mix, fuse, meld, unite, blend your oil pastels to create amazing effects that will make your piece pop with bursts of colour. The assorted color set of 48 has a good range of colors and a nice combination of firm and soft textures. And thanks for clearing up the culinary terms Now I’m getting hungry!! Mixed paper media, on the other hand, will help the pastel to latch on but blending and layering is quite inferior in comparison. Make sure that the glass does not touch the artwork after framing. However, I am doing more pictures with areas that are not blended. Watch this quick tutorial to see how artist Christine Ivers prepares her painting surface. One of the things I didn’t mention in my video was that when you blend pastels, you squish all the sparkly crystals of pigment and so dull the whole thing down. Blending and layering are quite convenient and the pastels also work well for creating glazing effects. Not always, but at times, when subtle effects are called for. Great video, Gail! One thing I love in pastels is that you are painting with your fingers almost like the pigments leave directly from them. I think the important thing is to know about different techniques and then experiment with them. The best pastel pencil brand is very handy for the beginner child because … Click here for all the details on the course! Sometimes a new technique will take one from frustration and questioning to a flow and happiness with pastels again! Holbeins are more expensive than the other two recommended brands. The range of colors is endless which makes it interesting, and easy, to choose the right color for your subject matter. This set of high-quality pastels comes with 30 tantalizing colors, which will draw in new and experienced artists alike. In this article, were going to highlight the main features of the best blending tools for oil pastels and why they are important when it comes to choosing the right one. Love pastels?? It has a high-quality pigment that will bring your artwork to life and excellent purity of color that is highly resistant to light. This allows you to create and draw without having to worry about the product you are using. This shape also allows you to create distinct lines when you are using these pastels. Let’s Get Blending. It adds tremendously to areas of the art. This is not a hard-wearing medium and has to be handled carefully to prevent bending the paper and smearing the artwork. They are much easier to use and smoother too. They have a velvety texture and they are very soft. Tapered pastel shapers are mainly for detailed work. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. All the best from Victoria, Canada!! With Rembrandt Pastels, you need not worry about quality. And yes, I can see how coming from the smooth glazed look of watercolours would have affected the way you came to pastels. You can blend your colors together after drawing with them, using a flat edge and layering your colors. And so I blend. The pastel paper I prefer is also from the Winsor & Newton range of products. Just be careful not to drop them on the floor as the pastel leads do break. This set is ideal for blending. If you like my art, please consider giving me a review.I would really appreciate it.Thank you. While these aren’t the cheapest of options, the price is reasonable enough, particularly considering the high quality of the pastels. And thank you for taking time to go through my blog posts. It seems to me that underpainting really improves the depth of the painting, but I’m not confident about my color choices. Blending of colours: Take different combinations of oil pastels just to see how these combinations look on paper while blending them together. Let Reeves take you on a journey teaching the best practices for blending oil pastels. Caran D’ache Neopastel Oil Pastels Set is one of the best products on the market. Thanks for your demo! That way, ones style evolves and grows – it doesn’t get stuck. Nice to add it to my Pastel Society of America (PSA) one . View my collection. My style tends toward details and after all these years I am giving in and going with it, so I guess it works for me! (Someone tell me no, it ain’t true!) Glad you are taking them to heart and already seen the difference in your work. Flat pastel shapers help to blend larger areas, while tapered pastel shapers assist in blending small areas. Wendy, yes, there is a place for it all! I just watched your video about blending, As a beginner I tend to blend, if only because I’m not confident about my work, but I have a great teacher who always tells me “don’t blend, let the colours breathe”. The Square Artist Pastels have a square shape, making them easy to hold. If you are searching for affordable, high-quality, and colorful pencils, you have come to the right place. As for oil pastels, it’s better to use a cloth, brush, or paint knife to blend colors together . The beauty of pastels is that because the medium doesn’t “dissolve” in a liquid, those physical particles–large or small–refract light in such a beautiful way! The quality of nice blending and the very nearly shades are the advantages of the pastels. The better the quality the better the end result. Blending is an individual choice. I like the true colors that come from painting without blending, but only in certain places. Don’t blend. This method is used to blend larger areas of color as opposed to smaller areas requiring fine detail work, which would be better achieved with blending. Learn more of Schneider’s thoughts on blending, as well as the tool(s) he finds work best for getting the job done, in this issue of Pastel Journal. Actually pastels can’t truly blend….what you see is the degree of granularity and the limits of our vision to see very tiny prismatic particles. I love extreme rough marks, whisper soft particles and everything in between when I admire the work of other artists. You can spray lightly with a pastel fixative to prevent smudging and hold the chalk in place when your drawing is complete. There is a vast array of brands for oil pastel papers you can consider. It’s interesting that you have made the connection between blending and your lack of confidence with the medium. So, if you want a set of oil pastels that are super … The main thing is to keep learning AND keep painting!! I draw with pastels just like I do it in charcoal pencils and I paint in pastels just like I do it in acrylics, oils and watercolors ( but using my fingers as my brush). Generally, I purchase the Lana Range of Tints Pastel Paper which has a grained surface with a 160gsm weight. You can use the blending technique to either mix colors together or create a variety of edges.You can use a variety of tools for blending – either your finger, paper towel, a piece of cloth or a cotton ball! 218 colours. In the video below, I set out to show, with sample swatches, why it is that I prefer to layer rather than blend pastels. Rembrandt offers these pastels in 218 colors – 61 with a lightfastness rating ranging from 25 to 100 years and 157 with a lightfastness rating of more than 100 years. The versatility of pastels allows you to do all the things you mention. Hi Cliff! I’m pleased as punch that two of my shoe paintings (done in the 31 paintings in 31 days challenge) were accepted into the PAC online show – see the exhibition here. This is the experiment where I lightened a middle-value blue. A lot of people spray in layers and build the drawing up slowly. I used to do some soft pastel work a long time ago (high school/college art classes mostly). Great idea for a video Ruth. I must say I’m much happier with my pastels since I’ve tried to follow that tip. And just see what happens. ), I am pretty adamant about them not using blending (and I’m talking about finger blending not scumbling). Holbein - recommended by the Oil Pastel Association of America, these oil pastels are more firm than the Senneliers and they can create a nice smoothness on your paper. Therefore using pastel paper that has a grain or “tooth” for the chalk to adhere to and hold the pigment in place is advisable. I look at “to blend or not to blend” as just a couple more tools to use as well as personal preference. I realize this may be a great dark to use as an underpainting but as I say in the video, I am partial to seeing all the individual colours sparkling through! Bonus Tip: Preparing Your Surface. The comparison, with the making of a soup, you mention in your video is fabulous! I tend to blend skin tones in portraits, and sometimes blend or underpaint with alcohol if I want an area covered up, but usually like to see the strokes in the sky and landscapes and especially seascapes. Wonderful Janet! As I have worked more with pastel I wish I could get those looser strokes and keep the vibrant colors you lose when you blend. Thank you for your wonderful addition to this conversation JM! I love hearing about when artists use the blending method. Christmas is coming! It can work well either in stick-blending or finger-blending. But in coulinary terms a “velouté” is a a tasty wonderful soup as well as a not blended “gaspacho”. A large range of colours and a good price makes these pastels a great choice for all levels of artists. Thanks so much Gail!!! Maybe I’ll do a video! Finished drawings made with soft chalk pastels do require protecting with artworks needing to be properly mounted and framed under glass. They have a beautiful color range and the texture is always consistent. These are the swatches on the Canson Mi-teintes paper. Learn how your comment data is processed. I love the words of your teacher! I treat pastels just like any other medium in painting – I draw and paint with them. For a long time I thought it was not a good thing to see the strokes, but I am beginning to appreciate marks that are left alone and I definitely like layering. If you are putting in big value shapes (the way I do), you might think of cool under warm and vice versa – that’s a great place to start! One of the most unique aspects of soft pastels is that you are able to blend the colors together. Charvin is a good starter set for anyone who wants to try hard pastels. Oil pastels are almost the same when it comes to oil paints. Best blending tools for oil pastels. At the same time, other artists used a paintbrush for blending colors. If you want to utilize texturing techniques like cross-hatching, dry brush and stippling, perhaps a slightly harder set like NeoPastel, Mungyo … They are great for sketching your pastel pencil drawings as well as creating very detailed work. I use blending scantily when it just seems to call for it. Oil pastels are heavy, and oils from them will seep into the paper you are using. Layer more colors to achieve various values or even different hues. Smudge and blend as much as you like, these pastel pencils are perfectly suited to layering. Sometimes beginners offer the wisest words! Layering retains the radiance and vitality of pastels (in my ever so humble opinion!). Therefore using pastel paper that has a grain or “tooth” for the chalk to adhere to and hold the pigment in place is advisable. The methods on how to use chalk pastels are varied. Then enter your name and email address and get my weekly blog all about pastels ... it's FREE! It also gives this “impressioniste” touch the French are supposed to love! Winsor and Newton also supply pastel paper in pads of various sizes. I have been rather confused by the responses of professional artists from all over the globe. Glad you enjoyed the video Ruth! Soft pastels are known to be better for blending compared to oil pastels. Chalk pastel drawings should be done on an abrasive base which collects and holds the color. You do not have to use a lot of effort to get a strong level of color with these pastels. Wiki researchers have been writing reviews of the latest oil pastels for artists since 2019. There are a few different ways to blend your pastels together, kids can try out a few and decide which ones they like best. This is off the subject of blending, but can you do a video or is there an existing video on the theory of color in underpainting? In it, you’ll see very clearly how I layer my pastels (as well as many other things!). To Blend Or Not To Blend Pastels, OR Why I Don’t! That means they are very suitable for fine detail and neat lines. And that’s it until next week. In the meantime, this week I made a video about why I don’t blend pastels. So I guess I have compromised and now tend to blend using colors on top of colors, but still don’t have the big stokes. Because for me, to blend is to mix pastel colors in order to get the desired result. The thing we love more about this paper is that it is available in 50 colors including White, Black, Grey, assorted colors, and earth colors. The rough side with heavy texture is best suited for oil pastels while the smooth side with a lighter texture makes the best combination with pencil, pen and ink, color pencils, and permanent ink papers. Chamois is a type of super-soft and flexible leather that is excellent for blending colors with pastels. 3. You can use a cloth to blend pastels, but chamois are even more effective. The better the quality the better the end result. Mary, delighted you have found your way back to soft pastels! Learning how to use soft pastels is very easy if you have a solid drawing background and have dabbled in color pencils. I use Artists’ Soft Pastels chalk sticks by Winsor & Newton to create my pastel drawings. However, you cannot mix oil pastels unless you use a paint thinner. For large areas, you can wipe or rub the chamois across the surface of your paper. I guess there’s no right answer as long as you achieve the results you want in your painting??? What are the best brands of oil pastel paper? For me, I use blending, hatching, pointillism, and any other possibilities the pastels will offer. Great for when you are out in the field and need a quick finger blending tool! What places this set of 24 among the best pastels for artists is the selection of colors. It all depends on the subject being painted; I usually blend skies in the initial stages, for example, and finish with selected layering. And i also not blend in some cases like highlights, lines or to put textures. Light Pressure Blending Lightly add oil pastels on paper with little pressure. And you too will find your way and your own artistic expression. Pastel pencils vs. regular chalk pastels; Pastel pencils are like a ‘medium-soft pastel encased in wood,’ whereas the chalk pastel, on the other hand, have a … Currently, the best oil pastel for artists is the Sennelier Luxury. Here is the swatch with three colours of the same value used. 2. I’ll sometimes blend the background trees in a landscape or the edges of a painting with the midground edges blended, but not the center…. Yes, the blending post and video is to explain why I have the preference I do but certainly, as I said, there are some artists who do amazing things with blending!! 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