Sunday, May 23, 2010

PanPastels. Help Me Decide To Either Splurge Or Not!

I have been dithering about getting PanPastels for some time now. As most of you who have read my blog for some time know I am generally not too terribly hesitant to splurge on new art supplies. With the soon-to-be-arriving medical bills though I have had to consider my purchases a bit more stringently than I normally do. PanPastels have been on my list for quite awhile now though and I keep thinking that if I get these as a birthday present to myself I can play with them for those weeks that I will be unable to drive and will be chair or bed bound. Of course I generally figure that one must have enough colors of any given new art supply to ensure enough play options - so the least I have been considering is a set of 20 (oh! to be wealthy and be able to get the full set of 80!).

My dilemma is that I have never seen these things in use. I have no idea how I might use them - or if they wold be appropriate for someone like me who would use them for journaling - not for fine art. Are they wonderful and worth the extravagance - or are they something that I might regret splurging on? I realize that these answers are totally subjective in nature - but I can use all of the feedback I can get! If you or any of your friends have used these glorious looking little pans of luscious, vibrant colors I would really appreciate some opinions about them. Help me either buck up ans spend or reserve the plastic guilt for another day! What colors did  you begin with? Individual colors? Sets? How many colors? Did you buy a lot at once or just one or two? Do you need the tools or will fingers work? Your opinions will help me!

This is the set of 20 that I have been considering - although I would have to add a few sundry colors - like the range of my fav green/golds!

9 comments:

Jeannie said...

I am laughing as I read this because I have been dithering about the Pan Pastels also. I have add them to the list of Caran d'ache Neocolor II, a "good" journal, a "good" pen, and many books (thanks in part to your reviews!!!) I say go for it! (I am good at spending other's $$$ - LOL!) You know that you will have some down time after the surgery, your birthday is around the corner, and the weather is stinky. I saw someone talking about the Pan Pastels on a blog and if I remember where, I'll let you know. Hope you have a wonderful week.

Dale Anne Potter said...

They are on my Want List also.

Edzellinni aka Linda Edkins Wyatt said...

never heard of the pan pastels. I know that I coveted a set of paintstix, those oil paints in a stick...and used them once. I prefer the cheap stuff that is water soluble. but hey, you ARE going to be laid up. Splurge baby, splurge!

Kate said...

Oh Marie, that's a dilemma! I know that Teesha Moore recommends using them in journals and really loves the look she gets. I don't remember specifics of what she says, maybe you could check her blog at Teeshascircus.blogspot (Something like that). When she was talking about them in one of her videos, it made me want them too!

Let us know what you decide.

Joyce said...

My husband has some. He says he only used them a couple of times before our granddaughter discovered them...She said they were like using makeup. They both do portraits with them. He says they work great.

Micki said...

Marie, check out Milliandes' site. Look in the sidebar under Journal January 10. She did a video for each day of January and uses Pan Pastels alot.

Sandy said...

www.joggles.com did have some videos demonstrating the use of pan pastels. She uses tools to spread them. They are tempting, but I haven't used the regular pastels much. You do more sketchbook work than I do. It is nice to have projects ready for after surgery.

Gill M said...

Marie, before I start I should declare a vested interest as I sell PanPastel on my journal craft site, however as you are unlikely to be purchasing from the UK, I guessed it would be OK to post :)

I LOVE Pan Pastels for journal page backgrounds, no messing with wet media that can warp the pages and sometimes stick together. I have posted some pages onmy personal blog for you to check out.

Hope this helps...

Gill M said...

Marie, before I start I should declare a vested interest as I sell PanPastel on my journal craft site, however as you are unlikely to be purchasing from the UK, I guessed it would be OK to post :)

I LOVE Pan Pastels for journal page backgrounds, no messing with wet media that can warp the pages and sometimes stick together. I have posted some pages onmy personal blog for you to check out.

Hope this helps...

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