My Review of Diane Townsend Metallic Pastels

'Golden Dreams'      5x7     pastel         ©Karen Margulis   $50 click here

Are you looking to spice up your pastel paintings? There is nothing like a little sparkle to to spice up an otherwise dull painting.  Metallic, iridescent, pearlescent are the names given to these pastels. It depends on the manufacturer.  I recently rediscovered my set of Diane Townsend Metallic soft form pastels. I say rediscovered because they were lost in my studio and found during my studio clean up.

The painting in today's post was done completely with the set of metallic pastels. I put down a layer of several of the colors and sprayed the painting with water.  I was curious to see how the metallic pigment would react to the water.  I wasn't disappointed.  Some of the colors rose to the top of the puddles and swirled like an oil slick. I tilted the board slightly and let some of the wet pastel drip. I let it dry.  You can see the sparkle of the gold and copper pastels.  Fun!

Diane Townsend Metallic set of 12 pastels

• I LOVE Diane Townsend pastels Her soft form pastels are some of my favorites. These metallics are no exception. They are so rich and beautiful.
• The metallic pastels are extremely soft and buttery. They go on like velvet. You need to use an VERY light touch. A little bit goes a long way. They are so soft that they crumble easily. (see photo) If you press down too hard they crumble right in your hand. Of course I am saving all of the pieces to reconstitute someday.
• I now know to use a very light touch but for the pastels that have already crumbled I will use them in other ways....sprinkle dust, apply with soft tools like pan pastels....No pastel dust will go to waste!
• I love the rich metallic colors and will try to use them as spices or accents in a painting rather than for the entire painting.
• I haven't tried to use them for an underpainting with an alcohol wash but since it just occurred to be I will have to try and report back!

Do you like to use metallic or iridescent pastels? Do you have a favorite way of using them? I'd love to hear from you!

Diane Townsend pastels are available from several sources online including Blicks.