Pastel Palette

[Sharon Knettell]

I had to giggle when Chris said that!

I was fortunate enough to sell enough of my pastels to buy most every set I could lay my hands on!

I find skintones are so ornery to paint that I cannot find any particular colors that work every time, even with slight modifications. There are ivory, tan,black, pink etc. all changed by the environment that they are in, indoor,outdoor, sunlight and haze.

What I did do was to buy some very good pastel organizers from Dakota Pastels and organize them by manufacturer and color groups. I numbered each individual pastel and color group. I also bought their handmade color charts and put them in a loose leaf binder. DAYS OF WORK! But now if I need a particular color I can look it up in the charts or go to the say, blue green section of one of my pastel sets.

Daniel Greene in his book "Pastel" (unfortunately out of print) recommends this procedure.

I have Great Americans, Unisons, Schminkes, Giraults, Senneliers, Mt. Visions and Nu Pastels. And don't you know , there were a couple of colors I couln't find today!