Jumping Into the Pastel Journey with Curiosity

So, I am jumping into this pastel addiction with both feet (or should I say my pocketbook?) ? The pastel journey began in January with a set of Sennelier half sticks. I added another large set of Sennelier half sticks in March, along with a small assortment of single Unison colors. I found, like many have said, that as much as I love them, the Senneliers can be inconsistent in their buttery consistency. (See what I did there?) And I love the consistency of the Unisons for mark-making, but they seem to really fill the tooth of the paper which makes them a bit hard to blend back into for me. But after hearing artists talk about some of their favorites and after following along and watching a bit of IAPS as well as some other instructional videos, I really wanted to try some of the other soft brands.

So, I decided to place an order with Dakota Pastels. I got a set of Jack Richeson Lana Ballot neutrals, Schminke 18 half sticks, and Blue Earth brights sampler. So, on my most recent piece I tried out several from each set. I am in love with the Schminkes already for their super softness but have to be careful not to fill too much of the tooth. The Richesons are such earthy and beautiful colors, and their consistency reminds me more of Unison. The Blue Earths are very similar in consistency to the Schminkes, and the colors are WOW. I will say I was a little shocked by their size… just over an inch long and 1/2 inch diameter. ?I do love that they are squared so I have edges and corners. So very happy with having some variety to play around with since I am still very much in discovery mode. I would love to hear others’ thoughts on why a particular brand or even color is your favorite. So far, I would have to say that my Sennelier 481 purplish-blue gray is probably the one color I do not want to be without. Weird, but true.

Edited to add: I also have a set of Faber-Castell pencils and a decent set of Nupastels for finer lines and signing. ?