Running On Empty
Over the last few weeks I’ve been watching my art supplies dwindle away, little by little. The 9 x 12 Wallis paper has been gone for a while, and that extra pad of 12 x 18 Belgian Mist was apparently not an extra. I’m almost out of workable fixative, but even more importantly, I’m running low on several I can’t work without them! colors.
My usual colors aren’t difficult. I know most of them by number, but some of my recent work has included colors I never used much before. So today I’m matching little nubs of very pale pastels to anything left in the storage drawers. So far, I’ve located almost all of the colors I need to order, but I’m having a crisis with a rusty orange that I can’t seem to match to anything. Gak! It’s a must have for skin!
Manufacturers color charts are great if you have nothing else, but they only give you a general idea of what the color actually looks like. Real pastels don’t match those glossy swatches in the brochure, and a real color chart would make finding this numberless pastel so much easier!
Fortunately, there’s a vendor that supplies these little treasures. Dakota Art Pastels sells hand-made color charts! They also offer a Kool-Bind Personal Pastel record-keeping binder that would be just dandy for all my favorites. Their most recent addition for the pastellist also looks like a winner. Dakota now offers blank color charts that you can fill in yourself!
I think it’s time I invested in one; at least for the Senneliers. I’ve been meaning to make something similar, and have yet to get around to it. I adore their pastel portfolios, and I think I’m going to adore their Kool-Bind personal pastel binder just as much.
Thank goodness there’s somebody who offers such wonderful tools for the most mundane of tasks. Creating color charts isn’t a lot of fun, but Dakota makes it as painless as possible.
Technorati Tags: soft pastels, color charts, art supplies
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Wonderful photo of the palette and set-up, Lisa.
I, too, am out of fixative. Time to re-order and I’m wondering if I can afford to pad that order with some pastels, too? I wonder what’s on sale at Dakota…?
Would you do me the favor of linking my pastelsblog, Pastel, on your links. It is still in it’s infancy and needs its own traffic.
I will make sure to reciprocate.
Thank you, Casey! I try to keep things somewhat organized down here, but it’s usually a losing battle.
Hubby is going to put some casters on that old table & add a couple of shelves for me. If I can figure out how to open up the table top, I’ll have the perfect pastel taboret!
Is it actually possible to visit Dakota Pastels without buying any pastels? Gosh, that might even be illegal! Better not take any chances…
…oh, and don’t worry about padding the order. Dakota pads their packages really, really well. 
I read all your blogs, so I added all of them under their own heading. I hope the new listing is satisfactory.