In this series of posts I’ll be discussing the pastel materials I currently own and use regularly, and any others I previously possessed but have since sold, and my reasons for doing so.
I’ll begin with pastel pencils and without doubt my mainstays are the Stabilo CarbOthello set of 60 pastel pencils. They are the first set I ever bought so there are sentimental reasons for them being my favourites, but for me they truly strike the right balance in terms of cost, versatility and degree of softness. The range of colours also is perfect for a wide range of subjects, but particularly animal portraits, and I can comfortably produce a painting using just them. Over the years I have developed a great deal of experience using them and I know instinctively which colour I need and can reach for it almost without looking. Obviously in a limited set of 60 pencils compromises must be made in the range of colours offered, but I think the balance between the hues is just about right with a useful mixture of warm and cool greys, browns, ochres and greens along with some excellent flesh colours and chromatic yellows, reds and blues.
None of this is to say, however, that I don’t use possess or use any other pencils, but in general I don’t use the whole set and just reach for a particular colour which is lacking in the CarbOthello set, and there are many of these from Faber Pitt, Cretacolor and Caran d’Ache that I often couldn’t do without. Special mention must be given to Mars Violet Light, Mars Violet Dark, Old Rose Light and Old Rose Dark; beautiful greyish purples from Cretacolor which I use all the time to modulate the intensity of yellow tones and add subtle hues to white or black fur. The French and Blue Greys from Caran d’Ache are also superb and are softer and more saturated than the (excellent) warm and cool greys from CarbOthello. Dark Indigo 157 and Sepia 175 from Faber Pitt are also indispensable: the former superb for adding the slightest value variation to black (think dogs’ noses) and the latter a useful bridge between black and the darkest greys from other sets.
I sharpen the pencils with a single-edged razor blade first, then refine the point if necessary with some sandpaper. The blade is used to whittle away the wood of the barrel to expose the thin cylinder of pigment beneath, about an inch worth, which is then gently rubbed on the sandpaper to achieve the desired point. The dust from this exercise is collected in a plastic container which will be made into a pastel stick at some point. Quite often I omit the latter step as using the pencil at an angle and rolling it as I work naturally sharpens it anyway.
