Leave the Wrappers on These Pastels!

Enjoy this post from the archives!

I don't want to take the wrappers off my pastels.  I don't even want to take them out of the box they came in. It's a nice wooden box and the pastels are so beautiful all lined up and nestled in the foam.

 Aren't we supposed to take the wrappers off?

You hear it all of the time (including from me)  Take the wrappers off new pastels. Break them into smaller pieces. Take them out of the original box and mix them with your other pastels. Arrange them by value and color to make it easier to paint. 

It makes perfect sense.  It is even great advice. It does help you paint more efficiently.  Using pastels in smaller chunks without wrappers allows you to actually paint with them...make broad marks of color.  When the wrapper is on you only have a small amount of pastel to work with. You tend to draw with them. Sometimes you might even get more detailed than you want.  Which is great if that is your intent.

Keeping the Wrappers on doesn't work for my way of working but I still don't want to take the wrappers off! 

My prize from the PSA show a few years ago

 I have this wonderful 108 piece set of Sennelier pastels that were a part of my prize at the PSA show a few years ago. I haven't used them. Why?  Because I don't want to take the wrappers off! I like to take them out occasionally and just look at them.  That is silly....but I know you understand!   I have plenty of pastels so I don't need to put them in my big box.  So I decided today....

I won't take the wrappers off but I will use them.  I am going to use them for my spices. Read about spicing up your paintings in my blog post here:http://kemstudios.blogspot.com/2014/01/my-favorite-way-to-spice-up-boring.html

I don't need the wrappers off to make the small and bold spice marks.  Sennelier pastels are very soft and very richly pigmented. They are perfect for making juicy spice marks!  Have a look at my marsh painting and see if you can spot the spice marks. I can use them with the wrappers on for the purpose of creating final marks and details.

I am leaving the wrappers on!

I still recommend taking the wrappers off your pastels especially if you are still building your collection. But it sure feels good to leave them on occasionally!