Pastels: Art Supplies Essentials

Chalk Pastels - Stirs up lots of dust, so cover up your workspace and don a smock. Chalk pastels, which can contain less pigment than other pastel formulations, are less expensive.

Pastel Chalk Pencils- Encased in wood. Easily blended with a finger, paper tortillon stump, kneaded eraser, or tissue.

Soft Pastels- Easily blended. Have a higher portion of pigment and less binder, resulting in brighter colors. A light fixative spray or quick framing is needed to prevent smudging.

Soft Pastel Pencils - Highly pigmented soft pastel pencils combine the smooth finish of conventional pastels but encased in wood, produces less chalk dust and mess.

Pastel Pencils - Pastel pencil ingredients encased in wood allowing the product to be sharpened. Achieve fine detail impossible with softer pastels. Wood casing keeps fingers clean.

Semi-Hard Pastels- Less fragile than softer pastels and produce less dust.

Hard Pastels- For preliminary sketching and for adding detail. A higher amount of binder to pigment in hard pastels makes getting crisp marks possible.... without crumbling. But because of the subtraction of pigment, the resulting product tends not to be as brilliant as soft pastels. Color blending also more difficult.

Water Soluble Pastels - Contain a water-soluble component. Add water, and they become transparent.

Oil Pastels –Creamy smooth and buttery oil pastels are intensely colored. Slightly more difficult to blend than soft pastels. Do not require a fixative.

Giant Oil Pastels- Can measure up to the equivalent of eight regular size pastel sticks.

Grip Oil Pastels- Triangular shape designed for ease of handle for the young artists. (A great alternative for older artist or anyone with dexterity issues).

Water Soluble Oil Pastels- Suitable for drawing and watercolor painting techniques including wet blending, dry blending and sgrafitto. Blending produces colors as laid out on the color wheel.

~Cynthia Padilla

Cynthia Padilla is sought out internationally for exhibitions, reviews, lectures and as a travel leader on sketching tours and retreats world wide. Traveling the world --- sketchbook in hand. Padilla has guided enthusiasts, even complete beginners, to sketch and draw with confidence!