Why Unison Pastels?

This 8x10" pastel I just completed is called "Yin". IF you follow my work, you know I love to paint with soft pastels... but I am in LOVE with Unison Pastels, which are distributed in USA by Jack Richeson & Co. Here's a link to see more... www.richesonart.com. (IF you are in the Charlotte area, Cheap Joe's Art Stuff's Charlotte store has a great selection of Unison individual pastels!)

Here is why I love these pastels... they are wider in the middle than the ends and they do NOT crumble (and not even the beautiful Sennelier hand made pastels consistently pass these tests)... and most importantly, they are soft and creamy... unlike any other pastel I've ever tried.

This is how good Unison pastels are... below is "Yin" in a later stage... you're seeing lots of layers of pastel on Colourfix paper (which doesn't hold as much pastel on the surface as the Richeson Pastel Surfaces). There is NO paper visible anymore.

Now, look at the completed painting with the red... the red color was a Unison Pastel that easily glided over the thick pastel surface. ANY pastel, other than Unison, would not have left a mark like this without a LOT of pressure which would have changed the painting. If you are a pastelist, you know that once there is a lot of pastel on the surface, usually you have to press down hard in order to get a color or mark to show. But, NOT with Unison Pastels.

Even if you can't afford Unison, if you love pastels, I'd recommend buying a couple of dark and light colors to see for yourself. This way at the end of your painting when you're laying in the darkest darks and lightest lights, your soft pastel will easily glide across the surface and you will be pleased. (Any artist knows that the quality of supplies will improve your work. It is the same with pastels!)

NOTE: You must carefully remove the paper label to use your individual pastel stick on the side as well as end (this gives you a variety of marks you can make with one stick).