So if you noticed last week, I don’t sharpen my pastel pencils.
I have not found a good reason to have a sharp point on the pencils I use. I find it is really (1) a waste of my time, and (2) it is not needed.
Pastel in the barrels of a wooden pencil is pretty brittle. Over time they get dropped or shaken up, so the insides can break up. There is no stopping that. So when a sharpener is used it just either churns up the pastel inside more and it can keep crumbling, or the tip keeps snapping off. It is a waste of my time to fight it.
Instead, I always do a “block point” on my pencils with a box cutter. It keeps the pastel thicker and stronger. Basically, I just shave the wood off and don’t worry about the pastel being pointy.
To the right are lines drawn with a super-sharpened pastel pencil and my “squared off” pencil. Not much difference in line quality. If I am worrying about a line any thinner than the line on the right, then I have to ask myself why do I need such a thin line? I am painting after all. I may be too much “in the weeds” and forgetting that tiny lines are not going to make my painting any better. That includes painting tiny eyelashes on a portrait.
So when I am in the studio or out and about for a workshop or for painting plein air, I take along a heavy-duty boxcutter. But in order to make sure I don’t hurt myself, I put the blade in this little container below someone gave me years ago and just put it in the handle on site. I believe there are pill boxes or makeup containers like this that are easy to find and it keeps the blade safe for travel, making it a cool little “friend of pastel.” Otherwise, I use a little blade like this green one below that has a “snap-off” chain of blades to “block point” the pencils. But it makes me nervous to snap off the blades and I just know it is going to hit me somehow… So I normally just stick with the box cutter.
Someone asked last week about what my setup looks like for plein air so I included a pic below to see how the pencils sit above the pastel box in their little fabric wrap. There is the box cutter too.
Next week…my travel boxes. And here’s a preview- I don’t sort them by hue, chroma or value.
Loved your tip on the homemade pencil carrier and that blade container is really cute and a good idea.
Is that a wood easel? Looks pretty sturdy. Post some plein air sometime soon!
Yes a French Easel. Older one. Got it at an auction nearly new. Will do!
Whoa you have a french easel! Way to go! I have used one forever. Actually on my second one. I look at all the other fancy pants easels and wonder, what about a wind? The weight of the french with the back pack hanging on a protruding screw is my best defense. Ever try finding the greens that fell in the grass because the wind took charge? Best advice I got from a instructor is a bungee cord wrapped around the box, on the easel drawer. Cheap insurance for wind and those ungraceful moves. Thanks for the picture.
Awesome! Good tips.
Snap off blades are not as heavy- duty. But for cutting prints or paper they are fantastic…IF you have a pair of pliers to grab the old section and snap it off!
I use the same blades a Lowe’s pretty blue knife Hubby got me when I started using pastels love it !
Your set up is great! I’m All about those bargains!! 💕♥️💕
Thanks for this!