June SketchBox

So excited about my SketchBox this month!  Let me tell you why… 

      First, let’s recap for anyone who missed my January SketchBox post (see it here).  For Christmas this year, I received a subscription SketchBox from my awesome best friend.  For those of you that are not familiar with what SketchBox is, it is a monthly service where you receive a box of random new art supplies.  What is in the box each month is a total surprise and generally it centers around some sort of theme.  It’s like having a little Christmas surprise every month! (Click here for more info about the company.)
     Each box is the same size with the SketchBox logo on the side and has the artwork of an artist.  June’s box has giraffes on it by Hannah Hill (artbyhannah.deviantart.com/ or @shannahhill on Instagram).  The inside contains a postcard with the featured artist of the month.  On the front is their beautiful artwork and the back has a bio and contact information.  This month  Angela Fife is (angelabfife.com or @angela.fife.art on Instagram) the featured artist and one of her beautiful paintings is pictured.  I love how SketchBox works with artists and promotes their creativity.

So what has got me so excited this month?  Let me tell you about what was in this month’s box!

• An exclusive 5 color pack of PanPastels
• A pointed knife and cover set
• A set of specialized sponge bars
• A Faber Castell Pitt Artist brush pen
• A Faber Castell Pitt Artist pastel pencil

     

      This is a box that any pastel artist would dream of opening.  (I may have even squealed in delight when I opened it and saw what was inside!)  PanPastels are something I’ve always wanted to try out, but I just hadn’t had the opportunity yet.  They have the look of traditional pastels however because they typically are applicated with tools (sponges, brushes, etc.) they tend to be less messy on the hands and somewhat more controlled. 
      Tips for anyone wanting to try this medium:

1. Use pastel paper. It has the correct surface to properly grab the pigment.
2. Anything foamy works well for blending. Brushes are good for taking away small amounts of pigment as well as blending. Kneaded erasers to pull pigment either laid down to thickly or in error (tap, knead eraser, repeat – do not rub!).
3. Be aware that you may have pigment “crumbs” as with traditional pastels, though probably not as many.Watch where they may be traveling to inadvertently (hands, clothes, surfaces, etc.).

     So what did I think?  I couldn’t wait to try them out so I ran and grabbed a piece of pastel paper right away.  I really enjoyed the control that I was able to obtain using the smallest applicator that came with the set.  I can’t wait to try out more subjects and techniques!  My only complaint with this particular set of PanPastels is that it did not have a red tone included.  The set had yellow, tan, brown, green, and blue.  This gives me the opportunity to experiment with monochromatic, complimentary, or analysis drawings, but I think I may have to pick up one of the reds just so I have a complete color range.

     With the supplies in my box this past month, I created this beautiful drawing (9″x12″).  Because of the limited pallet it ended up being more of a monochromatic drawing.  I primarily used yellow and tans with browns in the shadows and there are a couple small dashes of blue in places (so maybe it qualifies as complimentary?)  I haven’t tried out the other materials in this month’s box yet, but I’ll try to add an update later with my thoughts.