Art Supply Review: New Richeson Hand-Rolled Pastels

[@stevepanicci3103]

As a beginner/ intermediate pastelist, I recently bought a small set of these Jack Richeson "hand rolled" pastels to compare them with what I've been using. While I have no qualms with the pigment quality, I don't like working with these pastels. Yes they have about the same number of colors as all the other top performers, but the Richeson pastels do not stick as well to my Uart paper as well as my "other" pastels. Those others being Rembrant, Unison, Great American and Mount Vision, especially when applying them over color already laid down. The Richeson's also for some reason seemed to be dryer and I actually lost my grip on several sticks during painting since I've had them. I would put them slightly behind Mount Vision for performance and softness. I will probably end up using them mostly for underpaintings, block-ins and 2nd layer applications. IMHO there is a huge performance difference between Unison and these. The full stick Unisons are worth the Xtra $$.

[@walcottfineart5088]

Thanks for the information! I agree that the Unisons are way better and worth every penny, but some people might balk at the price. I found the Richeson pastels to be decent now that I've used them more, but they aren't top of the line. Thanks for watching and for the comment! :)

[@stevepanicci3103]

The other thing that somewhat irked me was when I opened the box and saw somewhere on the pastel stick lable that they were made in China. That should have been more apparent to me, the consumer either in the literature, web page description or on the outside of the box. I thought they were made in England, just lower quality. That could be another reason why to me they are a "value" pastel product.

[@vduron1]

I love these. I will continue to add them to my supply and a my local art store now carries them so I am in heaven, No more guessing online. I purchased my first 20 at the IAPS Expo last year. Pretty sure they had all 500 colors there. :D

[@walcottfineart5088]

That sounds awesome! I've always wanted to go to the IAPS convention...maybe someday! Thanks for watching. :)

[@vduron1]

Its Pastel Heaven....LOL

[@ColleenM61]

I'm so happy you made this video! I have tried looking for a review on them. I ordered a starter set and was waiting for them to arrive to try them out before ordering a dark set, he has a good looking variety of dark value sets, and the prices are wonderful. I would love to see you do a painting, even just a quick study using only these. Thanks again for the great video :)

[@ColleenM61]

Also, I just signed up for your newsletter....giving away a mini painting is such a wonderful thing to do! I know anyone would be thrilled to have one. I'm so happy I found you!

[@walcottfineart5088]

Thanks so much for the nice comment and for joining my newsletter! I'm so glad you enjoyed the video and found it useful. Since these pastels are so new I figured people were looking to see if there were any reviews on them. :)

[@ColleenM61]

Indeed I was! I searched like crazy, nothing out there. That's why I only ordered a small starter set.

[@clydejohn5642]

Great review. The set is so beautiful, thank you so much for bringing these pastels. I am sure thatmany sets will be sold, coming from a Professional like yourself. Good Luck and God Bless You.

[@Tennishead21]

Nice review, Jason. I always enjoy your videos. I haven't really worked much in pastels, but might give it a try soon. Typically, how long / how many paintings would you expect a set like these to last? I have been wanting to try pastel painting for a while now, but the cost and relative duration that the pastels will last has sort of put me off.

[@walcottfineart5088]

Thanks for watching! :) That's a tough question to answer. Just like paint, there will be colors you use more of and some less. You won't use up a set at the same rate. Most pastel artists by a good size set to start and then replace colors individually as they get used up. They last longer than you might think though.

[@Tennishead21]

Thanks, Jason. That is very helpful. :)

[@sarahpederson2068]

Thank you, I've been eyeing these beauts for some time. Was going to purchase at Blick or Jerry's, but I think I'll take my business to Dakota Pastels. Again thanks for this informative little video!

[@walcottfineart5088]

I'm glad you found my video helpful! Thanks for watching and enjoy :)

[@williamwraspir1509]

They’re from my hometown. Amazing small town people with a lot of passion ;)

[@walcottfineart5088]

@@williamwraspir1509 That's great to hear! Thanks for watching :)

[@LarisaCarliArt]

Great to see you like them, I was looking at them at Amazon but wasn't sure of their quality since there was no information yet on them :) I think I will get one set, have to check whether or not there are any smaller sets with colors suitable for me :D

[@walcottfineart5088]

Thanks for watching! That's great to know they are on Amazon too. I checked and did see some of the value sets. Be aware these are different from the "Hand Made" Pastels that Richeson has been selling for years. The older ones are in the black boxes. These just came out this year and are in the gray boxes.

[@LarisaCarliArt]

Walcott Fine Art You are right, they are very hard to find :/ The UK Amazon only has sets of them where you get a combination of the harder ones and soft ones along with some additional supplies. I think the soft ones in here are the newer ones but I am not sure about that set since I more or less have the colors those come in. I was actually dreaming of Terry Ludwig's tonight, never considered buying them because of the price but I am considering it now :D

[@lovelycorinne]

I purchased a set and returned. Mine weren't soft at all. Beautiful looking colors but they felt stiff.

[@walcottfineart5088]

Thanks for watching! That is surprising...I'm sorry you didn't like them.

[@stephengreico2810]

Aww man I just ordered a box..I hope it was just one bad box

[@oneshadowone]

seems likeJack Richeson and Co just made a half stick of Unison pastel don't get me wrong I've been unison for a long time but since Richardson took over prices are higher and smaller amount in each stick I would like to compare weight keep up the good work

[@walcottfineart5088]

Thanks for watching! Unison is top of the line...these Richeson pastels aren't as good as Unison. But they are nice for a mid-range priced pastel.