Thank you for this excellent video. I am new to pastels, and your demonstration is very helpful. I’ve also been hesitating to spend so much money on the sanded paper, but after watching this, I can see that it’s worth every penny. The cheaper paper just doesn’t yield the same results.
I am so glad you found it helpful! I have a lot of other pastel related videos to help you get started including a side by side comparison to various type of pastel papers.
Thank you so so much ! Love this video. I enherited and old set Rembrandt Soft Pastels for Artists from my grandfather. But cannot work with it... I have blendingstomps and... they work like a charm !!! Thank you so much, never would have thought about that !!! You solved my problem and now I can use the pastels as it is such a great thing that they belonged to my grandpa. Lots of greetings !
@@LaurenWatkinsArt yes, absolutely !!! Thanks for helping me with that ! I have more from him that I use, but not much, already used his watercolor paper (that he already prepped on a wooden board about 20 years ago, my mom found it in the attic, she found 2 wooden boards with watercolor paper on it (both sides) and I used one to make a mothersday card, my mom LOVED it, it was so amazing). thanx !!!!
Seems to me I see a lot of people picking up soft pastels and then back and forth across the paper. I got some different brands and also got different soft tools. I use the tools to take color off of the sticks and put in on paper. Light or heavy amounts of pigment depending on which I prefer. Soft pastels seem to be very drying to my hands, so I am preferring tools.
Thank you! This was very useful, I'm glad to see I've been using some of these tools correctly!.I do have trouble controlling the dust n then storing or framing them.. I would love to see some of your pointers on that ..thanks again and keep up the great work..
hello,,,you can buy a pastel/chalk "Fixative" (aerosol spray) at art supply. Tip, when spraying a finished, or partially finished work keep spray tip away from work surface so as not to actually "blow" colors off the surface. A light coat to start, & a final coat to "FIX".
thank you for this video. such a pity that the sound is so low...even with my volume on 100, i can hardly hear it. seems this happens with some videos...i don't know why :(
that isolation foam is so smart, i also gotta try that on oil pastels, cause that material is a lot rougher than soft pastels and it destroys all the tools i experiment with!
I’m the Pastel Live 2023 conference, one video showed using watercolor to block in your painting or hard pastel so you don’t fill up all the tooth of your paper with the soft pastels.
I just wash them out when the get really grubby under warm water with some soap and then I let them dry completely. If you want to keep a color really clean and vibrant I will use a clean soft tool sponge. If not I will just find a dirty one that’s in the same color family. So if I have a used sponge that already has red pigment on it I will use it in areas of my painting with similar colors. That makes it so I don’t have to wash them all the time.
Hi, thank you for a good demo. Question: have you tried, or seen a demo of the new ink blending (makeup type) brushes with pastel? Realizing you are not a fan of full blend technique.....😊
Hi sorry I keep playing this video back to try and understand what the large rubber/silicone tool is. Please could you clarify this for me, I can’t find one anywhere! Thank you 😀
The ones that are rubber like with a wood handle go by several names but the 3 most used ones are rubber shapers, silicone shapers, or clay shapers. They are a tool often used for clay and pottery. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The big grey one is called a catalyst edge. It’s often used with acrylic paint. I have more info and close up pictures on my blog post. The link is in the description box.
For me, it depends on the type of paper and level I want, but for sanded base layer, I use pipe insulation foam piece. I will use a rice paper blending stump, cause harder paper will often leave burnish marks that won't work back out. I have used makeup applicators that are sponge types and there are more out there. Try it on scrap paper of same kind to be sure what effect you will get both with the pastel and tool of choice. My choices on those depend if I am using pan, hard, or soft pastel and if it is an underpainting or finishing touch. I work to avoid dulling the pastel when blending. I think it matters on my subject, if I am doing a detailed area or not, and if I am working on a bokeh (soft, out of focus) background.
I’m a beginner in pastels. So I’m glad I found your channel. I do have a question about those sponges: are they washable and reusable after each use with pastels? Thank you.
Sometimes I will use a spray fixative but that can darken it up. If I am storing in I will wrap it in glassine paper. It works really well from keeping it from smudging until it gets framed.
HelloCaptainBlingBling your right! I was mostly focusing on tools that help blend because they can be used at any stage. I often blend with rubbing alcohol at the beginning of my paintings because I like how quickly it dries.
@@LaurenWatkinsArt That would depend on what for of pastel paper used? I know some disintegrate with moisture, like I was warned about sanded cardstock (Sennelier) vs types like u-art when I last was at Blick's. They were concerned I would try to use fluids on the Sennelier and chatted me up about intent while at the register. What have you found works best?
@@sacrebleu1371 hi! I recently did a review of a bunch of different papers and talk about which papers can handle wet underpaintings for pastel pieces. But I found Uart to be the most durable of the papers thay I have tried if you want it to be a sanded paper.
Debbie Daniels oil pastels have an oil binder to hold them together. They are creamier and not powdery and all. Soft pastels are dryer and more powdery. More similar to chalk in texture.
It’s pipe insulation foam from a local hardware store. It’s what we put around exposed pipes to keep them from freezing in during winter. It’s such a high density foam that it blends the pastels really well.
@@LaurenWatkinsArt thank you so much ! I will try it ! Because I use an handmade cotton paper and it’s lightly textured and I would like a smooth effect with blending without a textured effect !
Simonet1309 it really depends on the look your wanting to achieve. I tend to blend more when I am doing realism especially in the early layers of the piece. Landscapes I tend to blend less.
Blending and smoothing is what’s attractive about pastels to me. Blend or not blend as required.
Thank you for this excellent video. I am new to pastels, and your demonstration is very helpful. I’ve also been hesitating to spend so much money on the sanded paper, but after watching this, I can see that it’s worth every penny. The cheaper paper just doesn’t yield the same results.
I am so glad you found it helpful! I have a lot of other pastel related videos to help you get started including a side by side comparison to various type of pastel papers.
i just bought soft pastels and this is very helpful video
I am so glad you found this helpful! I hope you enjoy learning to use soft pastels.
Thank you so so much ! Love this video. I enherited and old set Rembrandt Soft Pastels for Artists from my grandfather. But cannot work with it... I have blendingstomps and... they work like a charm !!! Thank you so much, never would have thought about that !!! You solved my problem and now I can use the pastels as it is such a great thing that they belonged to my grandpa. Lots of greetings !
So glad I could help. What a lovely thing to have! Now you can think of him when you great beautiful artworks. 😊
@@LaurenWatkinsArt yes, absolutely !!! Thanks for helping me with that ! I have more from him that I use, but not much, already used his watercolor paper (that he already prepped on a wooden board about 20 years ago, my mom found it in the attic, she found 2 wooden boards with watercolor paper on it (both sides) and I used one to make a mothersday card, my mom LOVED it, it was so amazing). thanx !!!!
Wow just saw another video, and that woman used pastels like watercolor, wow, another way to use them, makes me very happy !
Seems to me I see a lot of people picking up soft pastels and then back and forth across the paper. I got some different brands and also got different soft tools. I use the tools to take color off of the sticks and put in on paper. Light or heavy amounts of pigment depending on which I prefer. Soft pastels seem to be very drying to my hands, so I am preferring tools.
I’m glad you mentioned the pipe insulation because I was given some for a repair job and have some left over. Thanks.
Very helpful. Most of these tools were new ideas for me. Thanks!
Thank you! This was very useful, I'm glad to see I've been using some of these tools correctly!.I do have trouble controlling the dust n then storing or framing them.. I would love to see some of your pointers on that ..thanks again and keep up the great work..
holy s***snacks!! I am glad you found this helpful! I will try and do some videos on storing and framing pastels in the future.
Lauren Watkins Art thanks! Ill be on the lookout😉👍🏼
hello,,,you can buy a pastel/chalk "Fixative" (aerosol spray) at art supply.
Tip, when spraying a finished, or partially finished work keep spray tip away
from work surface so as not to actually "blow" colors off the surface. A light
coat to start, & a final coat to "FIX".
@@LaurenWatkinsArt nice
During beginners class we were told to use cheap hairspray
All look to be good ides and blending options! thanks for sharing!
thank you for this video. such a pity that the sound is so low...even with my volume on 100, i can hardly hear it. seems this happens with some videos...i don't know why :(
The sound is pretty good for me tho, and I usually have problems with sounds
@@angelinaranyal384 great stuff,thx
Yes, thx , great info
clean the speaker on ur phone or your phone is getting old
Try headphones
Your videos are very helpful to a pastel noob like me. I'm a little surprised brushes aren't shown here!
that isolation foam is so smart, i also gotta try that on oil pastels, cause that material is a lot rougher than soft pastels and it destroys all the tools i experiment with!
Your post was very useful. thanks very much for your help. 💋
You are very welcome! I am glad It helped.
Brilliant, thank you so much for sharing
I use brush... Just brush.. Thank you for opening another ways for me to blend 💕
Excellent! Thank you!
Gracias por tu buena explicación...
A very informative video. thank you.
Very good techniques thanks for this video.
I’m the Pastel Live 2023 conference, one video showed using watercolor to block in your painting or hard pastel so you don’t fill up all the tooth of your paper with the soft pastels.
Thank you very very much , I haved learnt an awful lot
You deserve more subs!!!!!😠😠😠😠😠😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬👿👿👿👿👿👿👿👿👿👿👿👹👹👹👹👹👹
Also thanks!!
Thank you for the interesting tips ❤
Thank you so much. This is very good instructional video for a newbie like me.
My brother works in pastel and I’ve seen him use paper towers waded up
Your picture is very good ~♡
How do you clean the Sofft tool sponge, also do I have to clean before each blending??
I just wash them out when the get really grubby under warm water with some soap and then I let them dry completely. If you want to keep a color really clean and vibrant I will use a clean soft tool sponge. If not I will just find a dirty one that’s in the same color family. So if I have a used sponge that already has red pigment on it I will use it in areas of my painting with similar colors. That makes it so I don’t have to wash them all the time.
Thank you my dear❤
Hi, thank you for a good demo. Question: have you tried, or seen a demo of the new ink blending (makeup type) brushes with pastel? Realizing you are not a fan of full blend technique.....😊
Thank you so much for this video
Sanded paper is the best
It’s my favorite!
Hi sorry I keep playing this video back to try and understand what the large rubber/silicone tool is. Please could you clarify this for me, I can’t find one anywhere! Thank you 😀
They are called catalysts. The one I am using is a Princeton Wedge Catalyst shape #6
Lauren Watkins Art thank you so much for replying 😊
I wish I could see it better on the canson mi tientes, I can't tell if you're using the smooth side or the textured side sometimes.
I think I tried to use the textured side but this was filmed so manny years ago I can’t remember for sure.
Thank you for sharing😊.
Thamk you madam very infoemative....
I would have loved either a link or the manufacture name of the rubber blending/shaping tools
i use water to blend, it works for me
I like to use water to on early layers but some pastel paper I have tried doesn’t respond well to to water blending.
Lauren....pls. explain the tools used each time.....if possible on the screen.
Thank you very much Lauren..
Uhh im so confused
Have you used brushes for blending ?
What is that piece of rubberlike?
The ones that are rubber like with a wood handle go by several names but the 3 most used ones are rubber shapers, silicone shapers, or clay shapers. They are a tool often used for clay and pottery. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
The big grey one is called a catalyst edge. It’s often used with acrylic paint.
I have more info and close up pictures on my blog post. The link is in the description box.
helpful!
I have sweaty hands so im looking for a tool to help it blend
For me, it depends on the type of paper and level I want, but for sanded base layer, I use pipe insulation foam piece. I will use a rice paper blending stump, cause harder paper will often leave burnish marks that won't work back out. I have used makeup applicators that are sponge types and there are more out there. Try it on scrap paper of same kind to be sure what effect you will get both with the pastel and tool of choice. My choices on those depend if I am using pan, hard, or soft pastel and if it is an underpainting or finishing touch. I work to avoid dulling the pastel when blending. I think it matters on my subject, if I am doing a detailed area or not, and if I am working on a bokeh (soft, out of focus) background.
@@sacrebleu1371 thank you!!! Im really new to pastels and want to know what are the techs before buying a set😆😊.
Thank you very much for the infos☺
I’m a beginner in pastels. So I’m glad I found your channel. I do have a question about those sponges: are they washable and reusable after each use with pastels? Thank you.
I am so glad you are finding my videos helpful. Yes! The sponges are very durable and wash up nicely. The will stain but that doesn’t bother me.
@@LaurenWatkinsArtThank you so much for your quick reply. I just got my Mungyo set of 64. I’m going to be trying them soon!
💗✨Thank you for your video! I want to know what brand of toner paper beige and gray are respectively. I like Beige surface very much!
It’s UArt sanded paper in 400 grit. It’s by far my favorite paper to work on
@@LaurenWatkinsArt Thank you for your reply! Is this brand for both colors of paper in the video?
@@shana3968 the gray paper is canson mi teintes
@@LaurenWatkinsArt Thank you for your reply. I love this video presentation.✨
Hmmm. The insulation blender made me think that you could maybe use a piece of a pool tube. Have you tried that, or do you think that it would work?
The Mad Cadder it would
*work
Do you add somthing on top of the colored page to protect the layers of pastels?
Sometimes I will use a spray fixative but that can darken it up. If I am storing in I will wrap it in glassine paper. It works really well from keeping it from smudging until it gets framed.
Thank you
Thnxs so much 😍😍
Hat fixtures you use to keep the pastels from smudging?
What about water? We can blend with water as well
HelloCaptainBlingBling your right! I was mostly focusing on tools that help blend because they can be used at any stage. I often blend with rubbing alcohol at the beginning of my paintings because I like how quickly it dries.
@@LaurenWatkinsArt That would depend on what for of pastel paper used? I know some disintegrate with moisture, like I was warned about sanded cardstock (Sennelier) vs types like u-art when I last was at Blick's. They were concerned I would try to use fluids on the Sennelier and chatted me up about intent while at the register. What have you found works best?
@@sacrebleu1371 hi! I recently did a review of a bunch of different papers and talk about which papers can handle wet underpaintings for pastel pieces. But I found Uart to be the most durable of the papers thay I have tried if you want it to be a sanded paper.
Are these sofft tool sponges similar to beauty blenders?
What is that blending tool,can you give me the linke if you have
Which tool is best to use if you want to color a background?
I typically use the large sofft tool sponge for large backgrounds.
Cant hear paper u use then beige one???
Güzel
Hi . At first thank you for your video.💜 Um i have a question .what is the brand of white paper??
The lighter paper is Uart sanded paper
What's the difference between oil pastels and soft pastels?
Debbie Daniels oil pastels have an oil binder to hold them together. They are creamier and not powdery and all. Soft pastels are dryer and more powdery. More similar to chalk in texture.
❤❤❤❤❤
Are you using oil
Pastels or just soft pastels
Just soft pastels
Which paper is used for soft pastels maam?
What is the paper on the right?
Domno87 The Cream colored paper is Uart Sanded paper.
@@LaurenWatkinsArt thank you
Hello! What’s the same of the 3 tool? The grey sponge ? Thank you! I’m italian sorry!
It’s pipe insulation foam from a local hardware store. It’s what we put around exposed pipes to keep them from freezing in during winter. It’s such a high density foam that it blends the pastels really well.
@@LaurenWatkinsArt thank you so much ! I will try it ! Because I use an handmade cotton paper and it’s lightly textured and I would like a smooth effect with blending without a textured effect !
What tha name of the paper you used (the beaj one )
Meryem Hussam UART sanded paper I think it’s 800 grit
Use pepar
7:20 what is the name of those brushes
Meenu Goyal, they go by several names but their most common names are rubber shapers or color shapers.
Im a novice, but I thought blending was one of the main reasons for using pastels?
Simonet1309 it really depends on the look your wanting to achieve. I tend to blend more when I am doing realism especially in the early layers of the piece. Landscapes I tend to blend less.
you need to buy microphone cant hear clearly
but tutorials is great!
I can hear perfectly.
I didn’t see anything about the paper you’re using.
What is the cream colored one?
That is Uart sanded paper.
Thanks, darling. Much appreciated! 👍 Thank you for sharing your techniques!
I cannot hear you
Volume too low.