Dark Soft Pastels - A look at a few different brands options! Review/Comparison

Lets take a look at a few different brands options for dark soft pastels. Here talk a little about value in painting as well as comparing a few of Rembrandt, Mount vision, Schmincke, Conte a Paris and Unisons offerings for dark colours of soft pastels
S U P P O R T M Y C H A N N E L
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C H A P T E R S
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0:00 Start
0:54 Book
2:16 Rembrandt
3:11 Mount Vision
4:26 Schmincke
6:01 Conte a Paris
7:02 Unison
7:52 All Swatches and Final thoughts
M A T E R I A L S U S E D
I N T H I S V I D E O
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Art Fundamentals book: UK amzn.to/3IS2OeC / USA amzn.to/4cERnEK
Rembrandt Dark soft pastel set: USA amzn.to/3TLxTXB / UK amzn.to/43r5MQt (10 set)
Unison Dark Sets: These look like better alternatives to the contrast set! UK amzn.to/3IMlE6B / USA amzn.to/4ahhyzP
Conte a paris: USA amzn.to/4ahhHmR / UK amzn.to/3PugWhI
Schminke: No dark sets available, choose from open stock
Mount vision: USA amzn.to/3TJM5jB (alot cheaper in USA and nice colours) / UK www.jacksonsart.com/mount-vis...
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[@anitadavidson1266]

Hi Louise, thanks for making this video, I found it so helpful as the array of manufacturers and types of ‘soft’ pastels can be mind boggling! The price breakdown too was very handy. I have had my eye on Rembrandt sets for a while,mainly because I love their watercolours so much. Not that they are connected in any way as a medium 🤷‍♀️😂🖌️👩🏻‍🎨🎨

[@louisecreatesart]

Glad you found it helpful! I agree it's really confusing, especially how the different 'hardnesses' go down on paper so differently! I don't think I have any rembrant watercolours! Are they worth a try? I like mixed media so anything and everything goes 😁

[@GAWells-lj7qo]

Helpful video, thank you!

[@louisecreatesart]

Glad it was helpful!

[@MrsBarnabas]

Thanks for this, Louise! It's fascinating to see how different brands use the term "Dark". Also useful to see them compared so clearly, and how hard / soft / crumbly, etc they are. It's interesting to know thar Conté have switched to round instead of square. wonder why? I have some of their pastel pencils which I used a lot at one point and enjoyed them, so maybe it's time I played again.
I also have some Derwent (most of which are now discontinued due to lightfast issues), Faber Castell Pitt Pastels, which, like the previous two, are hard, but my my favourite is the Carbothello! Just the right thing to go alongside the previous three harder brands. But the hard ones work well for how I use them, which is plein air sketching, and the Carbothello for filling in.
However, Carbothello has poor lightfast ratings (and they are honest about this, as they are rated on the pencils) and most of my favourites from those are definitely _not_ lightfast. It doesn't matter for e, as I don't intend to displyy or sell them. The pastels are just for fun expressive work.
I have what was a complete full set of Winsor and Newton soft pastels in a wooden box, bought at an art fair at far less than the RRP back in the late 1980's. I don't use them very often now as I can't get replacements. Also a variety of other brands, all of a similar vintage: Derwent, a 15 set of Rembrandt, Daler (just Daler, not Rowney, but the same company), three Schmincke (a free sample), several even older Sennelier, beautifully soft, very crumbly, and totally lovely! I fell in love with them. They're very thin, highly pigmented, and I don't know how current Sennelier would compare.
Maybe I should play with all these pastels this summer - I could use them on the balcony, as the dust would be less problematic... They've been almost unused since I moved to France.
Totally agree with you about late night online shopping. It's certainly the time when I'm more likely to click "Add to basket" when checking through my saved baskets! 😄
You sounded a little froggy in places - hope you're ok? 🤗

[@louisecreatesart]

Thanks for the comment
It is so interesting to see how different the colours they pick for their sets are. The unison Dark sets actually look very interesting but I have more than enough dark soft pastels for the time being! I have a few conte pastel pencils which i like but they are SOOO prone to breakages when i sharpen them. I sharpen with a blade as well so very carefully but I have literally lost 1/4 a pencil trying to sharpen it before. I really love the carbothellos and the pitt pastel pencils. If im doing detail on a pastel/panpastel I always go to those. I dont actually have many derwent maybe 4 or so that were freebies. I dont really bother too much with lightfastness as I dont sell anything and its just for me. Although I am always buying professional grade stuff so its probably all fairly good lightfastness.
Ive never tried the winsor and newton soft pastels. I think vintage art supplies can hold up so well! There are so real bargins to be found if you know what to look for. I havent tried sennelier soft pastels either so quiet a few brands I miss but honestly Im so pleased with the schmincke i dont really see a need to branch out (unless a specific need like needed some more darks here). Maybe in 10 years once ive used some of mine up! 😅
Always fun to have a play with something you havent used in a while. I didnt think i'd like soft pastels but they are up there with watercolour for me! Id say they are my two go two mediums now!
I have another stinking cold! Not fun but thats the joys of having two little ones. They just collect every cough and cold around. We go to play groups 3x + a week so when all those children mix its just...germ heaven. If i avoided playgroups we would probaly pick up less colds but then i'd be stuck at home with my ferals and i'd lose my marbles. Swings and roundabouts!
Hope your well!

[@noodleneedles3561]

It's funny, because MV and Unison definitely have good, useful darks that didn't make it into those sets! Maybe it's a marketing thing, to make us buy more pstels, haha. I have the set of 25 greys from Girault and it has a few great darks, if you can find those for a good price maybe give them a go.

[@louisecreatesart]

That would be a good marketing scheme 😅 I'm seen some nice colours in the individual sticks so it certainly is odd they didn't pick some of these that are clearly darker!
I'm on a pastel spending ban for...a long time now 🤣 I have an abundance! But I'll add them to my ever growing wish list !