How to Clean and Organise Soft Pastels

[@lynnrushton7458]

That was so therapeutic. & even better with Andrews strings 👌🎶🎵 x

[@donnagodlove5003]

I use a small box with a tight lid. Corn grits work better than rice and corn meal. Smaller grains than rice and very little dust as with corn meal. I actually use this as my pallet. They are clean when a give them a shake and put them away. Darks, lights - all go in the box. Gentle shake and all's good. I love your idea of the separate boxes. Wowser!

[@EmmaColbertArt]

Thanks Donna. I must give the corn grits a go as I just haven't had good results this way with the rice. I really don't mind giving them a rub while I'm organising as I'm picking each one up to organise anyway. Definitely a 'once a year' kinda job!

[@donnagodlove5003]

@@EmmaColbertArt I truly enjoy cleaning mine. We must be crazy or special! Where did you get those boxes?

[@gloriapinskerportraits4801]

I use white rice, but I am going to give the corn grits a try. Thanks for the tip!

[@dougg1075]

You have the ultimate set of pastels:)

[@dok8164]

Greetings from Russia, Emma! Thank you for values information! It’s what I looking for

[@EmmaColbertArt]

Thanks Yarolslav, also search my videos on colour theory if it's help with values you're after :-)

[@mw3938]

Thank you 🤗

[@jenfleming9384]

This was so interesting. You have such beautiful hands too. Thank you.

[@karensymington680]

You are amazing, did good job and make painting easier. Thank to share. Lovely job👍

[@davidpowell1965]

A beautiful and enviable collection Emma. Such a tedious task, but very satisfying when completed, I’m sure. Many thanks for the tips. Julie.

[@mjpete27]

Emma! Oh my! This is very labor intensive! They look wonderful, I like Marla Baggetta’s method when she shakes her pastels in the corn meal filled box I cannot keep myself from smiling! I am envious of your storage method and maybe if I traveled as much as you do I would have to invest in your storage boxes. I enjoy watching your videos so very much, thank you for sharing your time and talents with us. Happy New Years to you and yours!

[@rosache17]

I like your method

[@richardpetts5149]

Great video Emma, lovely clean pastels and beautiful music

[@418SurferGirl]

Hi Emma! I too use toilet paper to clean my pastels, and thanks to your storage system I purchased the Prym click boxes for some of my pastels. Others I keep in their respective collection boxes (such as your Animal Set!), and I have a drawer cabinet system as well. Daunting as it is to clean these, I clean them as I go along and use them! Looks beautiful!!

[@EmmaColbertArt]

I clean as I go along too, but they still get grubby as I picked them up with dirty hands as I'm painting or they just sit out in the open collecting dust to the point where they look a bit grubby. It was easier when I had less of them :-)

[@paintingeasy]

Alot of work! Great share, thank you!

[@josediazdiaz8001]

Una pasta en pasteles.., teniendo en cuenta el precio de Unison..!, you are great

[@gloriapinskerportraits4801]

Emma, I just love these storage boxes that I learned about from you in a previous video! They are wonderful and I use them for pastels, colored pencils, graphite and charcoal as well. They are easy to store and move around and keep everything beautifully organized.

[@EmmaColbertArt]

Glad to hear. I love mine!

[@cmdrargo4448]

I like to use white corn meal, it allows me to see when I need to change the corn meal out when it gets really grey, I use a medium sized Tupperwear container, so I can do multiples of the same color speeding up the process. I just out the lid on and toss very gently. The only downside is that you have to make sure you get all the cornmeal cleaned up or you will eventually get critters

[@r.h.7633]

Wow.

[@lunakat5763]

Emma I really like your storage containers I like how they stack together. I always clean my pastels after I use them so its not that bad but the pastel powder does get a bit messy in their storage.

[@robinsamuelson3626]

This is so satisfying! What makes you decide to take off the wrappers or leave them on?

[@EmmaColbertArt]

If I need to use a pastel on it's side, or if I have exhausted all the edges around the ends of the stick and need to break it, then paper will come off. I have pastels with the papers still on because I haven't used them enough to need to do that yet. Sky blues for example will never have papers on as they get used on their sides a lot. I have a video showing more about that at kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZorEmWybhsR0pcU

[@markjayne935]

That looked like a lot of work emma. Emma i am keen to learn more on colour theory, will you be doing any more on the subject? the last one realy helped a lot. Thankyou for your grear tutorials.

[@EmmaColbertArt]

Thanks! Yes definitely more colour theory videos planned. Releasing an unboxing video soon about my new 'Light and Shade' Unison set. This will also be aimed at colour theory in a way as I'll explain a lot about it with this set. After that, lots more ideas as it's a huge topic.

[@claritzairosario68]

Thank you Emma, where do you get those plastic boxes?

[@cinnie2543]

I bought those trays for my pastels after watching one of your videos. I do like them, but I have found them difficult to snap together. I don't have as many as you do, so I can leave them out on the surface, so that's okay. However, where did you get the inserts for organizing them inside? I just have mine lying together so they rub against each other. Your work is incredible.

[@EmmaColbertArt]

Over the years when buying pastels I've kept the foam inserts so I have lots. But you can also buy the foam parts from Jackson's Art I believe. I too leave my trays sitting out individually. But when I need to gather all pastels together and move them, I find the clicking together of the trays a very fast way to stack them safely.

[@flyfisherman3649]

use cornmeal in a container, just shake them light;y and they clean up fast and simple.

[@EmmaColbertArt]

Have heard this before and maybe I'm doing something wrong but it never gets them sparkling. It just becomes a habit to wipe each one now as I mark it after use in my palette list for tutorials. But if cornmeal sounds faster for sure!

[@triciaarmitage1060]

Hi Emma, where do you get your storage boxes? They look great. I’m very envious of your selection of pastel too!

[@EmmaColbertArt]

Just added that info to the video description :-)

[@triciaarmitage1060]

@@EmmaColbertArt Thank you :)

[@ChristianeFortin]

How do you keep track to re purchase them do you make a chart of all your pastels

[@EmmaColbertArt]

Making a chart is a great habit to start. I have one of Unison's own handmade colour charts so I can always identify them.

[@eileenkurtzman2526]

Emma, do you wash the foam in the trays?

[@EmmaColbertArt]

I probably should! I think the last time I cleaned my pastels I took the foam outside and really knocked them to empty the dust. That worked surprisingly well but I think you could soak them too or gently wash.

[@Brontesister1]

That’s an interesting stack you’re using but I did gasp when you clicked the lid shut and picked it up! I think I’d be afraid it would fail and all my precious pastels would end up on the floor! So, can you buy extra trays in the shallow version that you are using here?

[@EmmaColbertArt]

Yes I can add to the stack. Normally I don't lift more than or 5 trays in one stack but they are strong. My priority was for a box with the handle on the lid not the side of the box which is just a disaster for pastels when you pick it up.

[@Morticia147]

Such a beautyful rainbow :O) How are you able to keep the brand apart after removing the label on them? Do you use only one brand and one kind of texture? I have hard and soft sticks and can't tell them apart anymore till they touch the paper.

[@EmmaColbertArt]

Yes I have a large number of the one brand which helps. But I do have other brands mixed in. I use very little of the harder pastels so it doesn't matter too much if I have the brands mixed. Mostly soft pastel and pastel pencil provides my harder textures.

[@catherinelevison3310]

I just stared pastels this year (2020) and I was wondering how to clean them. I’ve been wiping them on paper towels (kitchen). How did you clean the foam containers? Thank you.

[@EmmaColbertArt]

Hi Catherine, I think you could soak the foam inserts in some soapy water. I simply took them outside and shock them and knocked them together a lot to knock most of the dust out.

[@izabeldagenais7415]

where i can find those conteiner?

[@EmmaColbertArt]

Try an online search for 'Prym craft containers'. Ebay and Amazon is where I've found them

[@MikEm-jg5wz]

Hi Emma! Can you erase soft pastel from the paper if u make a mistake?

[@EmmaColbertArt]

It's best to avoid using an eraser on pastel paper. Best to work in thin layers, you can cover over mistakes with your next layer of pastel if you're using a good pastel paper like Pastelmat for example.

[@barrycrowson8138]

Hi Emma, I noticed in one of your tutorials you were using pencils, do they have soft pastels in them ?. Kind regards Barry.

[@EmmaColbertArt]

Hi Barry, yes I use Faber Castell pastel pencils. They are the hardest end of the pastel scale with the soft sticks and Pan pastels being at the soft end. They are different to normal coloured pencils.

[@flickaJay]

the other day I was trying to follow your tutorial on the Weimaraner and needed a very light grey you had said was warm grey. so I picked up one and tried it out on another paper and said, "oh, that looks like a warm grey." then I looked at the label and it said, "cool grey". how can a person tell the warm greens, greys, blues from cooler ones? I'm just at a total loss in this area. TOTAL!

[@EmmaColbertArt]

Colour can be relative. So sometimes the colours next to a colour can make it look warm or cold. I wouldn't worry about the label on the pastel. The same cool grey could probably be set next to a very cold blue and look quite warm. But if you set it next to an orange or yellow colour it might look cool. As a general rule tones with more yellow in them will appear warmer. The more blue, the cooler it gets. Think lime green as opposed to deep forest green. The first is a warmer green.

[@flickaJay]

@@EmmaColbertArt thank you so much. now that really helps.

[@saolyartstudio752]

👍❤️

[@cristiebuckminster7649]

Microfiber cloth works way better and wearing gloves.....after each painting I clean and put the dozen or so away. I never have to clean all my pastels at once. This should also be done next to an air filter if indoors

[@EmmaColbertArt]

Cristie, I too clean my pastels after each painting and put them away. But over time the trays get grubby and things get out of place. I do a big clean about once a year. I also move around with my pastels a lot which leads to them getting knocked about and grubby. I hoovered in between doing each tray, did all the emptying of excess dust outside and cleaned right under an open window. As for wearing gloves. That's personal preference. My hands were washed lots of times in between.

[@hawkeye9382]

Your method looks like it's hard on the back! Wouldn't be standing and bending over. Thank you

[@EmmaColbertArt]

Thanks Hawk eye. I could have sat and done this but my back was fine. Tea breaks! :-)