How to Organize Your Pastels for Under $10

'Summer of the Art Spirits'           11x14           pastel        ©Karen Margulis
Available for purchase here $175

You know it is time.  That moment when it takes you longer to set up and put away your pastel boxes than it does to paint.  That moment when you struggle to find the right color even though you know you must have it...somewhere.  One of the best things I ever did for my growth as a pastelist was getting a Heilman box and organizing all of my pastels in one place... one box with sections that allowed me to see all of the colors and values I had at a glance.  Once organized I quickly made progress. It allowed me to paint efficiently without spending time hunting through a pile of open boxes. It also allowed me to see what pastels I was lacking so I spent my money wisely. Read my post here on organizing pastels.

Pastel Boxes can be expensive and while they are definitely worth it, your budget may not allow it.  I have made my own boxes and even used cigar boxes which work. Many artists like to use tackle boxes or plastic containers but these don't really allow you to spread out the pastels the way a pro box does.

Here is a solution for a studio organizer for pastels and it costs less than $10!

Julie Whitehead's $8 Pastel Organizer

My artist friend, Julie Whitehead from Australia shared this wonderful solution for organizing pastels in the studio. Here is her description:

"After reading your blog about sorting pastels into values etc I decided I needed to do this even though I don't have that many ( got some TL's winging their way to me as I write this!)  After buying new pastels there was no way I could afford a Pastel Box so I had to get creative and came up with an old stretched canvas (flipped) with some corrugated paper lining it and then some dividers made from old card stock.  It works great and only cost me $8 ---- now obviously it would be no good for outdoors but until I can save up for a good pastel box it does the job.  I thought maybe it may be of interest to other beginners who follow your blog. Anyway, thank you sooo much for your daily blogs and the inspiration you give me every time I read."

Thank you for sharing Julie!  I love your ingenuity!  It is best used as a studio box but in a pinch you could make a foamcore cover and large rubber bands if you needed to take it to class....just be sure to keep it flat! 

I know my readers are very creative so if you have a homemade box you would like to share send me some pictures and a description and I'll share in an upcoming post!  Email me  if you have a box you'd like to share!

Remember this...The KEY to painting well is to be organized with your supplies and having your pastels arranged so you can easily find the value and color you need (click to tweet)