We love pastels. Nana has taught us to appreciate how beautiful and easy it is to use them. We even keep them close so we can use them for our nature journal entries. I’ve had a few questions about what pastels our children use and where to purchase them. So, I went to the expert – Nana! Below is a suggested list of resources:
What type of chalk pastels to use?
The pastels our children use (above) are Rembrandt. Nana says they are very good ones to start out with and are available at most art supply stores. She thinks you can even get them at your local Michael’s Craft Store.
Handmade by Terri Ludwig. Nana says these are the “most precious to use.” Our children used a few select sticks of Nana’s to create a Tornado in Pastels. Nana’s Terri Ludwig set is pictured below. Beautiful!
Dick Blick. This art supply company makes their own set of pastels you can order online. A set of 48 colors is only $10.39. Click over and watch online videos. A great resource!
Nana’s advice – start small: The student grade Alphacolor set is a good starter for $10.00. This set includes the basic colors to try out. These colors can be layered to achieve whatever color the student wants to use.
What type of paper is best for chalk pastels?
Our very first pastel pictures were made on a roll of newsprint we had close by 
But for the colors to blend well, good paper is suggested. Nana says a pad of Canson paper is available at Michael’s.
How do I store chalk pastels? How do I clean them?
The small set of student starter pastels come in a plastic sleeve for storage. The large bin pictured at the top of the post Nana purchased at Michael’s a few years ago. She says, “I think it was supposed to be used to store beads in for necklace and bracelet making – when that was all the rage. It just looked like it would be good for pastels so I bought it.”
We tuck our pastel set under the kitchen table for easy access.
After we’d been using pastels for about two years, Nana gifted us with a wooden box with drawers for storage.
Details in her post, Soft Chalk Pastels: Storage and Cleaning.
Nana’s advice for beginning with pastels
There is no need to make a large pastel purchase or to get a storage container until you have tried pastels, are certain the children will enjoy using them and if mamas want to put up with the mess. Remember, pastels are messy. Blessedly messy. We keep a package of baby wipes close by when we use them.
Where do you store finished pictures?
Honestly, our house is decorated with children’s pictures. You’ll find them on the chalkboard, the refrigerator and adorning the walls.
You can also find finished pastel pictures:
- in our nature journals – the finished pictures just rub off a bit on the back of the next picture.
- in a binder – my daughter created a binder for finished pictures. She puts a bit of wax paper between each one.
Following is a list Nana’s pastel tutorials:
- Dogwood blossom #42
- My Blue Boat #41 (Teaching Art with Multiple Ages)
- Robin #40
- An Easter Cross in Pastels #39
- Ten Arts and Crafts for Spring
- All Blue #38 (Ocean Scene)
- Fireplace # 37
- Chickadee #36
- Tree Silhouette #35
- Harvest Moon (Night scene) #34
- Medieval Castle #33
- Coca-Cola #32
- Fudge Pie #31 + recipe at Heart of the Matter
- Lily Pad #30
- Bird’s Nest #29
- Marsh #28
- Tomato #27
- Fruit Bowl #26
- Sparklers! #25
- Strawberries and Bananas #24
- Blueberries #23
- Watermelon #22
- Macaroni and Cheese #21 – Heart of the Matter’s April 2011 Digital Magazine
- Three Little Chicks #20
- At the Beach #19
- Bubbles #18
- Love birds #17
- Christmas tree in the snow #16
- Tree Reflection # 15
- Leaf #14
- Mug of hot chocolate #13
- Apple or Pumpkin – you decide! #12
- Queen Anne’s Lace #11
- Night blooming cereus #10
- Butterfly #9
- Sunflowers #8
- Weather + bonus #7
- Tree – #6
- Beach Umbrellas #5
- Twilight #4
- Sailboat at Sunset #3
- a Tornado in Pastels #2
- a Path to the Beach - Nana’s first lesson in pastels, the one that began our love of chalk pastels
- Art by Nana
- Find the positive
- Master Artist - a story of Nana and a tour of artwork in her house
For us, using pastels is sheer joy. We’ve found they are great for making nature journal entries. Click over to see how we used them for our Outdoor Hour Nature study on Dandelions.
“Ok, I have to tell you, I am NOT an art teacher… not even close. The most my kids ever do with art is maybe a hands on history lesson with coloring pages and some minor drawing. I have now ventured into teaching them art WITH NANA! We completed lesson one in pastels this morning, and it was fabulous! She is inspiring a love of art in a family that knows nothing of it! Thank you so much for sharing your precious mother with us all.” ~ Lori Lange, homeschool mom of 5 @ Abnormal Herd
The practical aspects of a mess: We always have baby wipes close by to wipe hands. We wear something we don’t mind getting stained or don a smock. *Read about how we cleaned the floor from a pastels spill in Nana’s 7th lesson, Weather + Bonus.
- Nana is a Master Artist in pastels. Pastels are an easy, forgiving medium. Fun for children and adults alike!
- Visit our Art Tutorials Pinterest board.
- Nana also shares Acrylic Paint Tutorials.
Thank you for your patience as I work to update these posts to our new Hodgepodge site. A few of the above pastel tutorials still link to our first site. Please let me know if you have any trouble accessing the lessons by the little email icon at the top right of the site.
About Hodgepodgemom
Hi Tricia,
We’re trying to access Nana’s wonderful pastel tutorials but are getting an error message.
Your help is appreciated – we haven’t done the last two and are missing them : )
Thank you.
Richele
Oh thank you for the heads up Richele! Just swung the site over this past weekend. Will work on updating the links and email you when ready. In the mean time, the latest one is posted over at Habits for a Happy Home. Just click http://habitsforahappyhome.wordpress.com/2010/12/28/art-with-pastels-plus-winter-fun-tutorial/ Thanks again for your patience! ~ Tricia
All links are updated!
Thank you! I just started teaching pastels to my son. I have taken so MANY art classes, but I forget how it is in the beginning. So I forget where to start.
Julie I’m so glad you and your son are joining in the pastel fun. Please let me know if you have any questions!
Tricia- the arts and crafts stores sell a matte finish/ satin spray to affix the pastels to the paper and then they won’t smudge! Sorry I can’t remember exactly what it’s called but an employee should be able to help you.
Thank you for mentioning this Leah! I remember we talked about this in one of Nana’s tutorials. Yes, there is a fixative available. And it will preserve your pictures well. You do have to take your picture outside to spray it as it is a strong smelling substance. Nana does frame some of hers and covers the picture with glass. That is an option as well. But mainly, we have ours all around as I described above. Thanks again Leah
Thank you for these wonderful tutorials! I’ve already used one with my children and they thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you!!
Stacy – It makes me smile to read comments like yours. For you are joining in a love of ours – and that is exactly why we share this love of art! Thank you for your kind words.
We’re making our summer fun list, and I am bookmarking this page so we can enjoy some of your tutorials this summer! Thanks for sharing:)
Wonderful Jenn! Makes me happy to know you’ll be enjoying them as part of your summer fun.
Tricia,
Really can’t thank you enough for these tutorials. We did the second one this week. Sprout, who was the most resistant last week, was begging to do more. I feel so good finally being able to indulge an artistic passion and–even better–sharing it with my kids. Thank you, and thank Nana!
Carey – this gives me great joy to hear about artistic passion! So glad you are enjoying the pastels. They are such fun – and so forgiving.