A quick tip for those working in pastels this week…

I just came across this envelope in my studio and had forgotten I used to use this all the time. Nowadays I don’t worry too much about sharpening my pastel pencils to a sharp point. I figure if I am working with line work that small then I am getting too caught up in tiny details. Normally I only use an X-ACTO blade to “block” the end of pencils. Most sharpeners drive me crazy. But sometimes it is nice to be able to take that blunt end and refine it. Not necessarily to a fine point, but to shape it bit.

Here I took a 9 x 11″ envelope and put a sheet of rough sandpaper inside. Then I cut a window on the side to get access to the grit. This works out great because when you run the pastel pencils over the exposed sandpaper the dust “catches” inside the envelope. Voila! Less mess.

Now I have to go clean my floor from dropping sticks.

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