Happy as a Clam!

Well, I am just happy as a clam and I'll tell you why...

Over the past few years I have been looking for a pastel I could stick with, one that gave me everything I wanted. I didn't think my list of requirements was that large, but finding a stick that suited all of my needs proved a lot harder than I thought it would.

First I wanted a soft pastel that was actually soft. Second I wanted a large range of colors (a must for pastels). Third I wanted a pastel that was easy to replace, so something that was sold in "open stock" (one stick at a time) was required. Fourth, I wanted something that, when sold in sets, offered a nice discount in price as pastels can really set you back.

My local Dick Blick Art Store carries two brands of open stock pastels, Rembrandt and Sennelier. I have a small set of Rembrandt pastels and I never really liked them. They are not very soft and feel a little greasy to me, but you can get them in open stock, in a large range of colors and in large sets at a discount. Well, three out of four, but the one it missed was for me the "big one."

Sennelier Pastels are from France and come in a startling array of colors. They are also softer than Rembrandts, are sold in open stock and have nicely priced sets. They meet all my requirements, right? Right, but when I was testing out brands I accidentally tested out a few Unison Pastels, and once I did that, I was hooked!

Unison Pastels are like something from another planet. They are oddly shaped, have this amazing creamy texture and come in some of the most vibrant and startling colors. The first time I picked one up I knew I was hooked.

They are handmade in England. Each stick is rolled by hand between the palms of its creator, which is why they are not uniformly shaped. You can even see the fingerprints of the roller on some sticks.

The vibrancy of their color is one of the other unique aspects of Unison pastels. Pastels are not chalk, they are pure pigment mixed with a binder and a base, usually of clay. A pastel company will start with a single pigment and call that one color, then add white to it in differing amounts and call each another color. Taking the base pigment they will then add black to it in differing amounts and call each of those another color. So from a single pure pigment, they can create 8-16 different colors. Unison doesn't do that. Each stick is a pure pigment of that color and that is why they are so vibrant.

So like I said, once I tried a Unison pastel, I was hooked, so I ordered a set and they arrived this week. I ordered the Portrait set of 72 pastels in an aluminum case with clear lid. I am just beginning to play with them, but so far I am thrilled with the results.

As I do a few pieces I'll share them here.

I can't wait! And yes, I'm happy as a clam!