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Tuesday, November 01, 2016

Trying a New Pastel...Review!


'A Quiet Interlude'         8x10        pastel       ©Karen Margulis
available $150
I love trying new art supplies! Especially new pastels. This summer I had the most amazing experience teaching a workshop in Croatia. You can visit the July archives of my blog for more on this wonderful trip. While I was there my host Mario gave me a few pastels made by an artist in Croatia. I packed them carefully in my suitcase and waited until the right time to give them a try. 

Today was the day!  I had just 5 colors in my selection but I knew they would be perfect for the scene I had in mind. They were the perfect colors for a foggy autumn day along the California coast which was the subject of my photo.

I am so glad I gave these pastels a try. The are wonderful! They are soft and buttery and not at all crumbly. I had no trouble layering them and they mixed wonderfully with my Terry Ludwig pastels. They did great in the early layers and with more pressure they were perfect for some nice juicy finishing marks!  I will definitely look into getting more of these pastels.

(I have contacted Gordan for information on ordering. I see he has a Facebook page. I will report back when I get more information for you)


My samples of Gordan Becin's handmade pastels from Croatia

The underpainting done with Inktense sticks and water


close up

2 comments:

Brenda Maas said...

I have a couple of his pastels. He sends out a couple for free samples. I love them and would like to get more; but he hasn't answered my message yet. I think he is very busy as he hand makes them all. So lovely to work with those.

Brenda Maas said...

I should have mentioned that I love your work and watch all of your videos on Youtube.