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Articles & Reviews
​Soft Pastels & Pencils

Soft Pastels & Pastel Pencil Reviews & Articles


Click on any of the images below to view the article of interest to you. We add new articles to the website every three months. We also like to keep current articles updated, sometimes changing the format of the page entirely to add more information or make it more aesthetically pleasing, so please do visit often. You can SUBSCRIBE to our quarterly newsletter if you want the latest articles sent straight to your email as soon as they are available. Not all articles below are currently available to view. A few may be in progress right now or will be added soon. I hope you find these articles very informative and should you wish to request a specific article, get in touch via our contact page. 
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Pastel brands

Autumn leaf created using prismacolor nupastels and blending sponge and stumps

Soft pastels | A guide for beginners

Have you always wanted to give the soft pastels a go but unsure what you will need to start out, this helpful article offers you lots of information.
Unison pastels additional box set 37 - 54

Unison pastels

Unison pastels are one of the finest, soft pastel ranges available and they blend extremely well. There is very little binder, so the pastels are more vibrant, due to the pure pigments found in the ingredients.
UPDATED FEBRUARY 2022
Faber Castell PITT pastels in a glass jar

Soft pastels | A guide for beginners

FABER CASTELL PITT PASTEL PENCILS
Looking for information on the Faber Castell PITT pastel pencils, find out about their abilities &  lightfast qualities suited to all pastel artists, particularly pet portrait artists.
Stabilo CarbOthello pastel pencils wooden box set

Stabilo Carbothello | pastel pencils

These pastel pencils offer 60 vibrant colours and would make a great addition to the colour palette of any pastellist. Find out more about this range.
Prismacolor NuPastels box of 12 colours

Prismacolor | Nupastels

These pastels feature rich, creamy pigments that allow for easy blending and shading. Perfect for creating illustrations or drawings, these pastels can be sharpened to a fine point for detailed work or dulled for full coverage. 
Derwent pastel pencils - Tin of 24

Derwent | pastel pencils

These pencils have a unique highly pigmented fine chalk texture which creates a beautiful laydown of soft colour and are easy to blend. These pencils can be used dry or with water to create light washes. Find out more about these pencils.

Papers & canvas boards for pastels

Art Spectrum colourfix paper

Art Spectrum | Colourfix

Art Spectrum® Colourfix™ Papers are sheets of acid-free, 300gsm hot pressed watercolour paper with a fine, deep tooth. It is a superb surface for pastels, oils, acrylics, inks, oil pastels, gouache, watercolours and dry media such as charcoal and pencils. Available in 20 lightfast colours.
Art Spectrum colourfix smooth

Art Spectrum | Colourfix smooth

For anyone who is a fan of the Colourfix paper, did you know that Art Spectrum also offer a smooth surface version too? Find out more about the Colourfix Smooth, compare between other surfaces and see where you can buy yours. 
Ampersand Pastelbord

Ampersand | Pastelbord

Are you a pastel artist looking for a top quality, rigid board for your pastel work? The Ampersand Pastelbord might pique your interest. Find out more about this product in our article.
Black and Brown sheets of Canson Mi-Tientes 'Touch' paper

Canson Mi-tientes | Touch

A highly innovative and unique surface - this versatile, finely textured paper is perfect for pastel, charcoal, pencil, & acrylic artists and suitable for both dry and wet media techniques.
Clairfontaine pastelmat paper and pastels

Clairfontaine | pastelmat

This paper is held in high esteem, especially among pastel artists. In this article we analyse the performance features in depth and explore its capabilities when used with other mediums like; coloured pencils, watercolours, oil pastels, charcoal, acrylics and mixed media.
UPDATED FEBRUARY 2022
UArt black sanded paper - coloured pencil drawing of a leopard eye and derwent pencils

UArt | Dark sanded paper

This dark sanded paper by UArt is ideal for soft pastels and other mediums such as pencil. In this article we review the paper using coloured pencils. We will extend this article soon.
Bristol 500 strathmore Plate and Vellum pads

Tim Fisher | Fisher 400

ARTICLE TO FOLLOW.
​NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE
Developed by Tim Fisher specifically for painting with pastels. The paper has no surface pattern, which can otherwise show through, on your painting, and it will take layer after layer of pastel. Suitable for both fine, detailed work and also for more impressionistic painting. It is also very good for mixed media.

Accessories for pastel artists

Ghiant transfer spray 200ml

Ghiant | Transfer spray

The perfect way to transfer outlines with less mess and wastage than carbon sheets. A popular product among artists. Find out how it compares.
Pencil sharpeners

Sharpening pencils

This article gives lots of information about different types of sharpeners as well as explanations on how they can play a huge part in your art techniques too.
Pencil chest for 250 pencils - Pencil chest made by Creations by Rod

Pencil storage chest

Finding suitable storage for your pencils and pens can be difficult, so when we came across this pencil chest made by 'Creations by Rod', we wrote an article about it. They make 24 unique designs including the pencil chest, which are aimed at the creative market.
Loxley fixative spray 200ml

Loxley fixative

Read our blog for some hints and tips on when to use a fixative, how to apply and why you should never use hairspray as a cheap alternative. Pencil artist Karen M Berisford also explains how fixative plays an important part in her own pencil work.
Lumi LED task light

Lumi LED task light

In our latest blog post, artist Karen M Berisford discusses her search for a new studio light that provides bright, natural light for close-up work and balanced coverage when working on larger portraits. She turns to The Daylight Company to find the ideal light. ​
Blending sponge and stumps

Blending products for pastels

Article to follow.

Why not try one of our tutorials for soft pastels

If you are completely new to soft pastels, why not try one of our tutorials which will show you, in great detail and explanation, how to create any of the subjects below by following the directions beneath each progress image, you will learn how to to build up your base layers and create fine details to aid realism in your work. If you are new to acrylics, you may wish to start with the 'Beginners' tutorials, work through the 'All artists' ones and then go on to the 'Intermediate' tutorials which are more challenging.
Enjoy!
Unison pastels on Mi Tientes Touch paper
Tonal Skies in Soft Pastels on Mi-Tientes 'Touch' | Learning the basics
Soft Pastels tutorial of an Autumn Leaf using Prismacolor NuPastels
Layering and blending | Autumn Leaf on Pastelmat
Violet flower in soft pastels on colourfix smooth paper
Violet flower on Colourfix smooth paper
Swallow in soft pastels on Pastelbord for a step by step tutorial
Swallow in soft pastels on Ampersand Pastelbord tutorial - 2 stage portrait for Beginners and Intermediates

MORE SOFT PASTEL TUTORIALS WILL FOLLOW
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