I just put the lids on their trays and put them in a drawer/cupboard! They are like pastel sticks where they don't technically need a lid but they can be dusty/messy so I always put the lid on that came with them (whether that's the tray lid or just single pan lids 😊

@@KirstyRebeccaFineArt thank you for answer

How exciting! I hope you enjoy your new pastels! 😊

Thank you! 😃

You're very welcome!

My pleasure!

Thank you so much 😀

I have a really old video showing how to sharpen pastel pencils here; kzbin.info/www/bejne/m3KagmygeNmAqs0si=8UoGvQUs_wltIKlZ but I usually recommend sharpening with a craft knife or blade 😊

Thank you! They are one of my favourite mediums 😊

Thank you so much! 😊

I do have Patreon but I am no longer uploading new tutorials there because I have my own KR Fine Art Academy which is much better 😊 You can find out more here; www.kirstyrebeccafineart.com

If you're referring to the price of Pastelmat, it's 100% worth it! It is a unique surface made with natural sprayed-on cellulose fibres, whereas most pastel papers are cotton-based or sanded papers. Pastelmat is the only paper that I have tried that allows me to get as many layers as I need to, but also produce a smooth result without any graininess I try to think about the cost of the surface in comparison to purchasing a decent canvas for acrylic/oil painting - it's not that expensive if you think about it that way I usually recommend that the first product people purchase when starting with pastels is Pastelmat because you just can't achieve the same results without it, unfortunately. If people need are on a budget, I suggest purchasing a smaller set of pastel pencils or Pan Pastels and mix/layer their colours until they are able to build up their set over time by adding individual colours The surface is the most important supply for pastels (in my opinion) but if you're able to create artwork that you love with a different surface, then that is completely fine! Everyone is different and will prefer different supplies/results... but for me personally, the unique Pastelmat surface is the only paper that can achieve the results I am after 😊

You're welcome - I hope you enjoy your new supplies 😊

The main mediums I work in are pastel and coloured pencil so I don't do a lot of watercolour/graphite/charcoal/watercolour pencils, so unfortunately, there are only a couple of tutorials using watercolour pencils 😊 You can view all of the tutorials that are available here in categories (the water-soluble pencil tutorials are under the watercolour category); www.kirstyrebeccafineart.com/krfineartacademylibrary

I'm glad it was helpful 😊 Yes, Pastelmat can be expensive but there is honestly no other paper that can achieve the same results that Pastelmat does, unfortunately! I just try and think of it in comparison to buying a good quality canvas for oil or acrylic painting - it's not too expensive in comparison to that! I always make sure my fingers are washed and dried thoroughly (no moisturiser etc) when I use them to blend my work but there is still technically some risk of oils transferring Also, pastel artists who use sticks will usually hold their sticks with their fingers which could technically end up transferring the oils from their fingers to the sticks, then their sticks onto their artwork anyway If there were a good alternative, I'd definitely stop doing it but most pastel artists I know will use their fingers and haven't had any problems with it so far so I'm not too worried about it You could always skip the steps where you blend with your fingers and try to use a cotton tip lightly or try it with a glove on your hand (it won't work the exact same way but it would be better than nothing) if you are really worried about it 😊 Hope that helps!

@@KirstyRebeccaFineArt thanks ... good point about the pastel sticks, I didn't even consider that!

You're welcome! I hope you enjoy your pastels! I have a lot of free videos here on KZbin to help you with your Pan Pastels 😊

Hi, I made a video discussing this topic which might be helpful! kzbin.info/www/bejne/enq8n6SZhLCUeLcsi=9GUuxpb0UzcnxSpz

@@KirstyRebeccaFineArt thanks

Thank you 😊

You're welcome! I only recommend Clairefontaine Pastelmat because there are no other papers that will achieve the same results, unfortunately! If people are on a bit of a budget, I would suggest purchasing a smaller set of pastels to save money rather than trying to find a cheaper paper 😊

Hi, I only recommend Clairefontaine Pastelmat for pastels because there are no other papers (that I have tried) that will achieve the same results 😊

Thank you 😊

Thank you 😊

Thank you 😊

I only use Clairefontaine Pastelmat for pastel work 😊

Thank you 😊

Glad it was helpful!

You’re welcome 😊

Hi there! Unfortunately, most fixatives/sprays that claim to "set" or "fix" pastels will cause more problems than they solve! Your artwork can end up being darkened/discoloured, leave spots/droplets from the spray, or the fixative doesn't actually "fix" anything Most pastel artists don't use fixatives for that reason If you use the supplies and techniques that I use (Clairefontaine Pastelmat with Pan Pastels and pastel pencils - sometimes a little bit of soft pastel sticks), there's no reason you need to fix your pastel paintings because there's very little dust fall off, it's archival/lightfast without it, and if you store/frame/post your artwork correctly, you won't have any issues 😊 When framing, I recommend using a matt/mount border so the artwork doesn't touch the glass and using museum glass (or UV-resistant glass) if you can because that will protect your work even further! Some artists also choose to add "spacers" between the mount/matting and the artwork so if there is any dust fall-off, it goes down the little gap where the spacer is rather than sitting on the edge of the mount/matt I store my artwork inside acid-free archival tracing paper pads of various sizes (A4 - A2 depending on the size of my artwork) so each piece is slotted between a sheet of tracing paper and you can lay the pad flat inside a draw/cupboard/under your bed. This way, the artwork won't move around or touch any other artwork! If you still think you would like to use a fixative, Spectrafix is one of the main brands that don't cause as much colour change (however, it still doesn't completely "fix" the artwork and can cause "spots/droplets" from the spray that you will probably need to cover up with more pastel) and as I mentioned earlier, it's not necessary to use a fixative)

@@KirstyRebeccaFineArt Thank you very much for your explanation. Several people I asked didn't tell me. I actually don't want to fix it with fixative, I just want to leave it without the risk of staining it later during handling. But I've seen that fasteners ruin paintwork, it's already happened here. So I think it's the best, just like you said. it would be to frame it in a frame with glass on the front. I really thank you for the information. It's frustrating to see the beautiful, perfect paint job and the fixative ruin everything.

Hi, I have an old KZbin video about sharpening pastel pencils which is still quite useful! You can watch it here; kzbin.info/www/bejne/m3KagmygeNmAqs0si=lkJBKWGu54DVnyyl

You're welcome, I hope you like it - it's such a versatile surface 😊

@@KirstyRebeccaFineArt I got a small pad in the mail today. It does amazing things wet in wet. Can't wait to play with it this week!

Glad it was helpful!

Glad it was helpful!

Unfortunately, I have never come across any other paper that comes close to Pastelmat because it is a unique surface that is made with cellulose plant fibres, whereas most other pastel papers are sanded papers or cotton-based The paper makes a huge difference with pastels and you just won't be able to achieve the same results on other papers! Every other paper I have tried either produces a grainy-looking end result, the pastel doesn't "stick" to the paper so there is a lot of dust fall-off and/or it doesn't take enough layers of pastel When it comes to pastels, the only supply that I 100% recommend you purchase is Pastelmat. All of the other supplies (brand of pastels, blenders, pastel pencils etc) can be swapped to cheaper alternatives if you wish, but definitely not the paper as you just won't be able to achieve the same results If you are on a budget, I would still choose Pastelmat and maybe get a smaller set of pastels (you can blend them to make other colours) until you can afford to add more pastels to your set over time Although Pastelmat is a little more expensive than other papers, it's 100% worth it in my opinion 😊 If you compare it to the cost of purchasing a decent canvas for oil/acrylic for example, it is actually quite reasonable for the results you get with it

You're very welcome!

Thanks a lot 😊

Thank you so much!

Thank you 😊

Happy to help!

Thank you so much 😀

@@KirstyRebeccaFineArt your welcome!

The images in the video are the reference photo, but I did actually do a pastel painting of it as well! You can find it on KZbin or my website 😊

Which brand did you use? Some brands are more opaque then others, and some have a "mixing white" (might be labelled with a different name) which is a more transparent white compared to a normal opaque white. Also, the more water you add, the more transparent/pale it will dry so try adding as little water as possible! I hope that helps! 😊

@KirstyRebeccaFineArt I have W&N, permanent white. I did saturate it rather with the water, I might give it another shot with the less water though! Thanks.

Glad it was helpful!

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed the video 😊

You're welcome!

You're welcome! I hope you have fun creating with your pastel pencils 😊

If you're interested in real-time full length tutorials where I list all the colours I am using, then you're welcome to check out my KR Fine Art Academy here 😊 www.kirstyrebeccafineart.com