How to Clean and Organize Your Pastels

I had not cleaned my pastels in three years! They were a mess. In this video I walk you through the process of cleaning and organizing my pastels. My hope is that the tips I share will help you become more efficient in the studio so you can paint more!
For more pastel and general painting instruction and tips check out my blog at www.karenmargul... and my Patreon Page at / karenmargulis

[@JA-ed1tj]

Well, with much trepidation, I BROKE my pastels today and organized them. Now that it is done, I will paint. Thank you Karen for all you share!

[@KarenMargulis]

Wonderful! Have fun and thanks for watching!

[@StopFear]

Thank you Karen Margulis for your timeless videos. They will always continue to be helpful to us.

[@tsmall6211]

LOL! I love your collection and enjoy them--never feel "guilty"--it is your love!

[@nerllybird]

Oh my goodness! I can't believe you will ever need to buy another pastel! 😂 Thanks for the tips, fabulous video as always. I have to say, though, that as a pastel newbie (who normally collects stuff), this has made me determined not to go mad buying pastels! 😊😊😊

[@KarenMargulis]

Thanks so much! 😊It is an obsession!

[@curiousobserver4525]

Only Karen marguilis "...and in this box, I'm going to put all my spare Terry Ludwigs..." love it 😆

[@mjpete27]

I believe we are still waiting for the making pastels from your crumbs! I will check again, but maybe it has been pushed into 2020? Have a happy holiday season and we will keep watching! Thanks for all you do Karen!

[@kdloewy1]

Thanks Karen, what an amazing studio with all those fabulous Ludwig pastels! Thanks for the tutorial. I am new and trying to figure it all out.

[@monetcafe]

What a great video Karen! This is going to help so many people… Including me! I’m definitely going to share this with my Facebook group as I know it will help so many artists.

[@KarenMargulis]

Thanks Susan! I appreciate you watching and commenting! It feels great to start fresh!

[@monetcafe]

@@KarenMargulis .... I'm super excited that I will be attending your workshop in February in Leesburg, FL. It will be my first workshop EVER, even after all these years of painting. I think it's appropriate that it's yours because you were one of the artists I admired the most and you were always so willing to answer questions. Can't wait :)

[@KarenMargulis]

Yay!! I am so happy to hear that you are coming. I am honored to have the opportunity to share with you in person! It will be great to finally meet! :) @@monetcafe

[@jilld8787]

Excellent demo! Many thanks for the info on how to clean pastels with cornmeal and that rice or sand can also be used. 😎🎉🥰

[@108bhavani]

So glad. I I found your video on pastel box arrangement. I am just about to do this I use oatmeal in a plastic box and can put a bunch of pastels in at a time and gently shake . So many great hints . Thank you so much. I learn so much from your videos .

[@KarenMargulis]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching my videos!!

[@angiemichal1455]

I can always find a great suggestions on your videos even if if they are from a year ago. I am happy to help you and take some of those extra pastels off of your hands!

[@KarenMargulis]

Thank you for watching! :)

[@bythesea760]

Inspired🎉helped me to see what I was missing: darkest darks and lightest lights. TY Karen😊🌈

[@landscapeartist2342]

I love seeing other artist collection of materials, a sea of colours!!

[@kabluey5971]

Karen, those "chips" are huge. I save mine until they're smaller than the size of a pencil eraser (the pink part at the end of a pencil, not the one used separately by itself). I also save the "dust" that comes off the paintings and turn them into warm, neutral or cool greys (depending on what I'm painting, I'll save the dust from skies or the foreground separately in baby food jars until there is enough to make a stick). Do you add gum tragacanth or do you just add water to make a paste and reform? Looking forward to see you make some new pastels from your "chunks" of pastel.

[@nerllybird]

Me too. I'm a beginner, but so far I've kept my few sets in the foam packaging so even the smallest chips can go in the hole with the rest of the colour! The white is particularly useful for things like stars and distant lit windows!

[@gathercreatelivewithleslie8340]

I've saved my powder also and add a little iso alcohol and use it to do the underpainting with a brush.

[@loati94]

I know! some of her "chips" were the size of my half pastels lol

[@dech4548]

Great video! So glad to see I’m not the only one with the pastel addiction

[@katrinagarner6624]

Wonderful Video......and so timely! Thanks for showing us your cleaning process.

[@makedas944]

OMG!! Your collection is amazing. One thing I am not wanting to do is mix all my beautiful brands up together! I need counseling for this 😁

[@catherineconnolly5930]

Thank you greatly, Karen. For myself, there is a certain calm in my processing, knowing what is what, and where to locate items. Frees me up. I hope to get a workshop in the next year. Maybe some of the bits would be helpful to have for new folks to experiment with?

[@flooklh]

Thank you so much for these tips on cleaning pastels. I'm definitely going to use the cornmeal. Stunning idea.

[@Coco2345ful]

Incredible supply of pastels!

[@leslovesart]

This is so helpful , thank you for sharing! Can I please ask where you got the metal shelf with the pull out white drawers, that would be so perfect for my studio. I love love love your channel ❤

[@renzo6490]

Thanks so much for the delicious corn bread, Karen. Odd color. I've never seen gray corn bread before ! lol

[@francesrecupero963]

This was an informative video. I like watching your tutorials . You get right to the point.

[@KarenMargulis]

Glad you like them! Thanks for watching!

[@SheridansSojourn]

Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom! I'm just starting to learn the medium and am attempting to collect an adequate variety of pastels and setting up my studio.

[@KarenMargulis]

Welcome to the dusty side and thanks for watching!

[@Mollygirl444]

At the Art Students League of NY we used to store them in boxes with rice in it so that they were constantly being cleaned. Not sure if this would work on a large scale, but it did work for a small box of pastels. Worked a treat! Btw, love your vids!

[@Mollygirl444]

Just heard you mention ‘mice infestations’- never had that, but think I’ll use sand instead!

[@KarenMargulis]

ThanKs for watching! I know I will likely use sand from now on after hearing that from the Instagram friend.

[@magoo8386]

Thank you for this organization advice! I’ve just ordered some really beautiful Richeson pastels, & I CAN’T WAIT to receive them! I’ve used Rembrandt for a good while now, & before watching you & Susan Jenkins, I didn’t realize all I can’t do because they are so hard. Can’t wait to apply all you’ve taught me!

[@lindakriegel5552]

Inspired me to clean my pastels here at the barn studio in my house we are getting ready to put on the market BEFORE moving to my new studio (which is a room in my new house - not out in the barn!)

[@KarenMargulis]

Great!! I bet you are excited to have your studio close by!!

[@shilarhiel9237]

Great video. I was SO overwhelmed (for you) watching it that my project seems minuscule in comparison. Now I don’t have an excuse to get it done😃

[@cinnie2543]

I've used pastels for years, but thanks to KZbin, just now learning how to use them correctly. This was great. I do have one question and that is about intermingling your pastels. Since they have different properties how would you know which one you are picking up since all the labels are removed? I just hesitate to mix them all, but in their original boxes they do take up so much room. Hope that makes sense.

[@KarenMargulis]

Thanks for watching. Great question. I don't usually mix the very hardest ones with the softer ones but most of the have different shapes and sizes so it is easy enough to tell them apart. When they get too small it is harder to tell of course but I don t ever worry. I just replace it with something similar in color and value.

[@cinnie2543]

Thanks so much!

[@pastryqn]

Oh my goodness, and here I thought i was buying too many pastels! Love this view of your studio. Question. Did you wash your foam inserts before putting in your clean pastels. I did mine two days ago and it’s taking forever to dry the inserts.

[@KarenMargulis]

I have not washed them so thanks for the heads up!

[@vickiethaxter9407]

You mentioned doing something with the small pieces, can you direct me to that video?

[@katherinebuchanan9350]

I love your videos and can't wait to see how you re-cycle the chips!

[@seapossumsforrest8162]

Great tips! I wondered if you ever swap out the foam padding and clean the inside of the box and how you go about doing that cause it has all that trapped dust and pigment. Another question, could you turn old bits into paint? Love the tutorial. Thanks!

[@KarenMargulis]

Yes you can order new foam form Heilman. I haven't bur I do take it out and vacuum it when I clean my box. And Yes you can easily make pastels from your bits and deices using distilled water. Crush the pastels into powder add water form into shapes and let them dry. I plan to do a video of this soon!

[@seapossumsforrest8162]

@@KarenMargulis That is great! I can't wait! I learn so much from your videos. Thank you!

[@mjpete27]

Wonderful video, I do not yet have this problem! I am sure it is down the road! I was looking for your pastel creation video but you have not posted one yet this year? I keep wondering what you do with the leftover "bits"! Hope to view more soon. Thanks!

[@KarenMargulis]

Thanks for watching, I haven't made the pastel creation video yet! Stay tuned!

[@lydiawebber1846]

This was very useful, thank you. I still keep my pastels in their original boxes, but it is not ideal. I will have to get some bigger boxes to organize them and be more efficient.

[@TheJancameron]

Where do you buy those plastic pull out drawers where you have your excess blues etc. thank you for all your videos. I love them

[@KarenMargulis]

I bought it years ago at Costco but I have seen them in other hobby shops like Michaels.

[@lyneqc7805]

Good morning Karen was the video done for doing your own pastels with bits, ty

[@jamesholder13]

Thank you for the tips! Congratulations on the upcoming Terry Ludwig set! And Happy New Year!

[@lyneqc7805]

Hi Karen did you do the video how to make pastels with bits and pieces (small) thank you have a nice evening

[@KarenMargulis]

Thanks for asking! I never did make the video or the pastels! It is on my list to do in the next month!!

[@connievorwald227]

Thank you, this was so helpful!

[@KensanOni]

Don't feel bad! I've not cleaned mine in about a year and a half... and I need a better way to keep them outside of this little craft box.

[@KarenMargulis]

It just gets away from us I guess! Thanks for watching!

[@sherrywoodwardart1488]

This was so helpful.

[@superjdogg1000]

Great video Karen! Happy New Year! I need to do this as well--thanks for the tips! Belle

[@KarenMargulis]

Hi Belle! Happy New Year!

[@wendysimm7615]

How do you make new pastels from the bits

[@KarenMargulis]

@@wendysimm7615 You just need to crush the bits into powder and add distilled water until you make a paste. The form into shapes and let dry. I will be doing a video of this process soon.

[@imahaingtia]

Did you make a video on recycling pastel bits into new pastels?

[@lisa1762]

Hey ever thought of donating some of your massive chalk collection to the local jr, highs and high schools for all the budding artists , even teaching a class so young people can see your fine work and be inspired like you have inspired me? Put together some little starter kits in Cigar boxes and donate them to your local schools art department!!!

[@KarenMargulis]

That is a great idea! I do have small kits that I use for new students and I try to go to local schools for Art Day to share pastels with the students. It is important to be a pastel ambassador and get children exposed early!

[@jlusk999]

Good lord that has to be well over 20K in pastels if not much more. I hope you got a lot of those from vendors for free!

[@KarenMargulis]

LOL! Actually many are from students or other artists who are moving away from pastel :)

[@AnneGoggansQHHT]

I’ve looked at pastels, and it seems sooooo much more expensive than painting. Can mix paint, so can get by with 3-18 colors. This looks like thousands of dollars of pastels. I’ll just keep a small collection and amuse myself with more paint LOL 😉

[@v4175g]

Same thoughts. In the Middle Ages, they practically only have red and blue and gold ... but they make amazingly beautiful works of art.

[@ThomasRoux-sb4ky]

Hello, I am looking for a way to organize my pastels, thank you for your video. Your big bambou box, with ten places, is interesting, could you give me the reference ? Thank you.

[@stephengreico2810]

Beautiful...Btw did you ever make a video on how you make your own pastels with the small chards?

[@KarenMargulis]

Thanks! No I haven't but thanks for the reminder. I will add it to my list!!

[@claudiachappel3350]

Thank you! That was great!! And, thank you to your instagram follower, I'm extremely new to pastels and found some old and very dirty ones and will be going out to buy sand :)

[@juliabinford6500]

Very helpful!!

[@kathygore6615]

did you ever make a video about making pastel storage trays out of an old canvas?

[@KarenMargulis]

I have shared this idea but I don't remember if I made a video about it.

[@reneekroyer5104]

Hey Karen --I'm trying to find your video on how to take your pastel pieces and crush them into powder and make your own pastels, but I'm not having any luck finding it. Can you help me? Thanks! Happy Memorial Day weekend to you and yours.

[@KarenMargulis]

I had great intentions but I have not done that yet! It is on my list!

[@reneekroyer5104]

@@KarenMargulis Oh, okay. lol I understand completely. I'll keep my eyes open for it in the future.

[@halehko8751]

Thank you karen..

[@DavidSmith-kf3ey]

Hi Karen...Don't your clean pastels look gorgeous!!!! Yummy!!!! Thank you so much for the cornmeal tip - I'll use it. Marylin Smith

[@dan2buys]

How would I identify a particular color/number tag on a stick to re order that specific pastel online if they don't have the wrapper/ID number.

[@KarenMargulis]

I have found that brands of pastels such as Terry Ludwig that don't have wrappers will give you a blank color chart for you to fill out before you use the pastels. Then you have the chart to reference when you want to reorder a color. Some half stick set that don't have wrappers will have color charts on the side of the box. If not you can usually find a color chart in the line listings for the pastels. You can use these to make your own color charts with names/numbers.

[@dan2buys]

@@KarenMargulis making my own color chart is a great idea,and I should have done that from the beginning. Manufactured printed color charts that companies include with sets or that you see online don't match up very well with the actual color. In the old days,there was no "online",and I was closer to great art stores (Michaels moving in to town closed a few down😔). Thanks for the speedy answer!

[@MyChilepepper]

Need to organize my house! 😁

[@anipendakur]

I love it here - kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6rXf6WGa9Fkn5Y , I take it that someone from your family was filming this and they burst out laughing here..! lol I have very similar situation in our household as well!

[@belindaroca4577]

Hi Karen.. would love to know what art podcasts u listen to?

[@KarenMargulis]

I enjoy the Outdoor Painter podcasts with Eric Rhoads!

[@whffm]

I‘m always overwhelmed with the expression warm and cool greens and blues. Can somebody help me, how to decide if a colour is warm or cold. Thanks in advance, Collin

[@KarenMargulis]

Great suggestion! I did a segment on color temperature on my Patreon Page but I will add it I to my future video list!

[@dvjai]

Very nice 👌👍

[@susannoval6546]

I've been watching your instructional videos for some time now and am mesmerized by the impressionist style and vibrant colors...and you make it look so effortless with you technique and experience. I finally bought my first assorted set today and can't wait to get into my studio and push those paints to the side for a little while. Thank you for the inspiration that you give us. 😁

[@JennyKnorr]

You're welcome to donate those littles to me (poor pastelist). Haha love your videos. 😁 Happy New year.

[@dulcieogilvie5786]

Hi. From U.K. an wondering what corn meal is!!! We don’t have it in U.K.!!

[@KarenMargulis]

it is ground corn used to make cornbread and muffins. You can try rice or even sand works great

[@gerdavogel5287]

Honestly, I paused your video to go out and buy some cornmeal and cleaned all my pastels which worked beautifully. Today I finished watching it only to be told about the mice! We are having a serious mouse plague in inland Australia (check the media) and now I have pastels with crumbs on them! The mice must think they’re in paradise, not funny!

[@kerimalpalt]

valar margulis

[@dorothygladsjo3510]

Using an “upside down canvas”?!??? Genius!

[@chriscomins1672]

single use plastic wipes?

[@dorothygladsjo3510]

Holy cats!!! That’s a lot…😮

[@kafka9627]

oh my god i only own 10 crayons, its so limited. I wonder if any artists near me have collections like these and would let me buy some spares from them

[@sharmanfrancis6869]

thanks! I have that exact mouse....

[@KarenMargulis]

Thanks for watching!

[@renzo6490]

With half a dozen tubes of oil paint, I can mix all the colors, shades, tones, tints I want. Can't do that with pastels. If you want a slightly lighter shade of a color, you must buy it. Ms. Margulis must have over 1000 pastel sticks at ...how much per stick? At least $5.00 each. Who can afford to amass such a collection? What? You say they aren't all necessary? Then why have so many??

[@KarenMargulis]

Thank you for watching my videos and taking time to comment. I happen to love using pastels. There is a luminous tactile quality that cannot be achieved with any other medium. We all have our passions and Pastel is mine. I say that you don't need as many as I have because it is true and it is important for others to know that thousands of pastels are not needed to do good paintings. I have been collecting pastels for 13 years. So I have many. Many were given to me and many more were awarded to me. I choose to invest in pastels because it makes me happy and I am fortunate to be able to do so. Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts.

[@renzo6490]

@@KarenMargulis .. I have been painting with oils for a decade. Your video persuaded me to give pastels a try. The looseness of the image appealed to me since I tend to get too involved with detail and my paintings feel tight. Of course the effects that you get and the way you handle the medium is the result of much practice and effort. Someone gave me a box of oil pastels but they didn't behave the way soft, dry pastels do. So, I went out and bought a box of 40 half sticks. Where I shop, it isn't possible to buy half sticks except in an assortment box. My pastel images are still influenced by my tendency to depict everything as I see it, but I feel that I am relaxing. And perhaps after watching a few more of your videos, I will adopt a more open style. One great thing about being an artist is that you are easy to shop for. Gift cards to an art supply store are always a good choice.

[@KarenMargulis]

Welcome to the wonderful world of soft pastels. I am happy to share what I have learned about them!

[@juststartingover2735]

OMG thanks for the mouse tip! It never crossed my mind🫤 Sand would def be a good ootion👍