When I first started painting with chalk pastels about eight years ago, I used the cheapest pastels available at Michael’s. You know, the kind that come in all primary colors in a black plastic tray? They worked for a while, but the color selection was very limited and I wasn’t able to achieve the correct blends on my own. Then, people were asking me what brand I used when I brought in paintings for critique to the PSNC meetings and I was, frankly, too embarrassed to say.

Finally, two years ago, I acquiesced and purchased a 30 piece Rembrandt pastel set. Thanks to a 50% coupon and a gift card from my mom-in-law, it only cost me around $15.

Talk about a difference! Not only was the quality of the pigment light years better, but I feel like my paintings improved tremendously. I probably don’t own as many pastels as most of my fellow artists, but for every project I am slowly building my collection. I currently work with 53 colors of Rembrandt pastels and 3 Sennelier pastels that I got for free, 56 colors in all.