Super Art & Craft Supplies

                                                         All About Pastels

Historically, pastels can be traced back to the 16th century and have been used by many famous artists, but they became especially popular in the 19th century. Delacroix, Manet, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, Whistler, Degas, and Mary Cassatt all used pastels for finished work as well as for sketches

Pastels offer brilliant colors and high pigmentation. They are ideal for an artist who wishes to use intense color. They offer a lot of diversity, as they are mixable, wipeable, and water soluble. They can be used to achieve a wide range of drawing effects, from crisp lines to soft feathery textures.

They are easy to use when paint is not. Because there is no drying time, they make it easy to be spontaneous, and work at a moment's notice.

Hard pastels have less pigment, and more binder. They are firmer to work with, but the colors are not as vivid. They are good for making crisp lines and details as they can be sharpened to a point. They are often used for outlining or adding intricate details to work done in other media. Because hard pastels are less vivid, some pastel artists use them for background color. Hard pastels are recommended for preliminary sketching.
 

                                              
PanPastel Artists’ Painting Pastels

Here are genuine artists’ quality pastels — the softest in the world — uniquely packaged in stacking and interlocking jars. The packaging protects the colors, thus reducing damage and waste. PanPastels were specially developed so that artists could lift, apply, and control pastel color, just like true painting. The pan format holds color like paint for easy application. Each pan contains 35% more material than the average pastel stick. (On average, based on a market survey of standard soft pastel sticks.) The label, with color name and number, remains with the color pan for easy identification.

Loaded with the highest quality artists’ pigments, PanPastel colors are made using a unique manufacturing process requiring minimal binder and fillers, resulting in a rich, ultra soft, low-dust formulation. These professional quality colors are highly pigmented and have excellent lightfastness. They are erasable and fully compatible with traditional pastel sticks, pastel surfaces, and conventional fixatives. They can be mixed, blended, layered, and applied like paint for an infinite palette of colors.

With PanPastel, it is possible to create more painterly effects. The artist can apply controlled marks, from intense to delicate — ultra thin “glazing” layers and veils of color. It is possible to block in large areas of color in seconds, for backgrounds, underpainting, and tinting paper. PanPastels clean up easily.

Included with each PanPastel multi-color set are one Sofft mini applicator, two Sofft Covers, one Sofft Art Sponge, and a storage jar for these tools. Instructions are also included. The sets contain individual 9 ml (0.3 oz) jars of each color.
 

Holbein Sumi Suzuri Painting Kit

This authentic sumi kit, made in Japan, is a quality kit for a respected, traditional art. Its sturdy wooden case with handle will hold and protect your sumi supplies.

The complete kit includes three bamboo brushes, a black ink stick, a grinding stone, and a water bottle.