Paul Rubens vs Neopastel vs Sennelier. Who wins?

[@meherenow]

There’s times you need hard cheaper pastels and times softer ones are useful..a combination of brands is probably the most useful rather than specifically focusing on just one brand

[@raizes]

Yes. Currently using 5 brands. 6 if you count the Paul Ruben’s.

[@abc-zl1ry]

With the Paul Rubens u need to wait a few minutes after applying the second layer, then it should work fine. For me it did.

[@lcarolc03]

Fabulous demo. I’m a long time Sennelier user. Recently I’ve tried to transition to Neopastels - Georgia summer heat and humidity does make Sennelier gooey. Love the colors , layering of Neos , but no matter how hard I try , they just aren’t Sennelier ! Thank you for showing me that I’m not just being picky. Neos are delightful but they are not the Gold !

[@dannpurvis]

Awesome video. Thank you so much. You just saved me a bunch of money. I’d love to see you expand this video with the use of turpentine and different mediums to include baby oil and mineral oil.

[@raizes]

Thanks! I've never tried any oil (baby or mineral) with oil pastels. It sounds interesting though. My only worry would be, getting additional layers.

[@dannpurvis]

@@raizes I have used turpentine and it works well with layers after it dries. I've never tried mineral oil but heard it was possible. And with how you approach videos I thought you would have a really cool video and others and myself would benefit as well. Anyway…just thinking out loud.

[@gben5689]

Thank you for this! I just bought some Neopastels , and I´m looking forward to learn how to use oil pastels. Love your videos !

[@raizes]

Wonderful! Enjoy those neopastels. They are awesome!!

[@BetinaLundkaerJensenartist]

There is just no way around it... you get what you pay for. Where I live, the Senneliers costs less than the Neopastel though 🙂 Cheers

[@raizes]

Nice! Wish I had that here!

[@JC-il4or]

Hi Rich, Observing your top 3, and wondering why you like the Mungyo Gallery less than the Paul Rubens. Totally get the Sennelier as top choice, tho, and i have a small set of them for finishing touches. On some of your vids you use solvent to blend the base color(s)...and i can see using a less expensive (Like Mungyo) choice for that purpose. If you have time can you share your thoughts on this? Many thanks!

[@raizes]

I chose these three based on the overall softness and how well they spread. Paul Ruben’s seem softer than the mungyos. It would be interesting to see if the mungyos can layer effectively on top of themselves or other brands. So another comparison video might be in order. I do like the mungyo brand a lot, however I’m using them less and less nowadays. Van Goghs are replacing them in my setup. If I use a solvent, I can do that with craypas or Van Goghs. And those are cheap to replace

[@JC-il4or]

@@raizes thank you for replying. I haven't tried van Gogh's. Do you think you will be covering the combinations in your new formats?? Something that I haven't heard you mention is ambient room temperature as a variable to soft/hardness. It seems to make a difference to me. Not that I am a pro, but am finger-blending sensitive in my old age 😊

[@jennyb-aeternabitart7436]

​@@JC-il4or From my experience, some brands seem to be more sensitive to studio temperature than others are. There's also the humidity to consider. Paul Rubens go softer and gooier in the heat of summer (~30°C/85°F, with UK humidity levels of 70% or more). Also some of their colours (the darker, more-pigmented sticks especially) go harder, almost like a wax crayon, in the winter (10°C/50°F, again with humidity of 70% or more). By contrast, my Van Goghs seem to be pretty consistent year-round, with a very small softer-harder change at the extremes of temperature here. I hope that helps a bit. @raizes has a lot more experience than I do, especially between the different brands, so hopefully he'll answer too!

[@raizes]

@@JC-il4or temps definitely affect your experience. I live in the pnw of the us. It’s relatively mild year round. We don’t get high humidity here. But certainly in the heat of summer , the Paul Ruben’s feel slick and a bit greasy. Senns soften up more. In the summer on plein aire painting, I use 100% neopastels and I will find a shady spot to setup so that full sun is not on me. Neopastels hold up great. Senns also unless it’s full sun on, then things gets “mushy” . Van Gogh and mungyos seems to stay the same regardless of surrounding temps. I’m using less and less mungyo now. Only have a few sticks left. Van Goghs outnumber them In my setup. First layers are van Goghs, craypas occasionally and neopastels. Layers after that are neopastels and senn. I tend to save the senns for top layer stuff.

[@lafterthefact6939]

Do you worry about lightfastness?

[@MattiasWirf]

Sennelier and Caran d'Ache Neopastel should be lightfast. Rubens I don't know

[@raizes]

Not with senns or neopastels.

[@zackm8399]

Nice work! Do you recommend a sealant for my oil pastel work?

[@raizes]

Krylon uv archival matte varnish.

[@analiaf.j.6131]

I recently got the Paul Rubens Haiya, and I really like them, they are very creamy. The only thing I noticed is that some of them leak some oil, is weird, never seen that before. But they work fine for me, are the Haiya the same you used here in the video?

[@raizes]

These aren’t the haiya. Just the regular Paul Ruben’s. Someone on my patreon suggested the haiyas also. So I just got some on Amazon. Review will be coming in those when I get them and try em out

[@isaaccherry2671]

The hiaya are a sennelier dupe, they are oily at first but you just wipe them off and they are fine. However they are not as vibrant as sennelier.

[@DeviousOni]

I have the 72 Haiya set and they are wonderful--definitely a Sennelier dupe for most of their colors. They are much creamier than the regular Paul Rubens. I have found they do have an oily film on them the seeps to the wrapper. However I find that phenomenon is non-existent now that it's cooler (I live in Southern California), so if you store them in more moderate-to-cool area in your workspace you should find the oily issue more easily rectifiable. All that said, I still love the regular PR and my Mungyo sets--I just find different uses for them in conjunction with the Senneliers and now the Haiya which is use for the top most layers. Now I am more curious about these large square Kawachi oil pastels I've been seeing pop up on KZbin.

[@raizes]

@@DeviousOni I got my 48 ct set of the haiyas and love them! So much better than the regular Paul Ruben’s. ….i see and feel that oily feel, but but wow they are fun to work with. Already got a couple paintings done with them. They layer well and after awhile almost feels like your working with paint.

[@peaceofbaris]

what do you think about neopastel II?

[@raizes]

The water soluble? I tried them and like them for first layer. Then neopastels over it. Made a video on it on my patreon