Pastels: a colour guide for artists and manufacturers

Abstract

To bring some order to the plethora of pastel colours, samples and measurements were made of 3154 artist's chalk pastels, comprising the complete lines of eight brands (Rembrandt, Unison, Sennelier, Schmincke, Girault, Blue Earth, Mount Vision, and Great American). Munsell specifications, calculated from the measurements, are presented; another file lists which pastels are closest to standard Munsell colours. Artists can use these resources to organise and choose pastels. The pastel measurements were also analysed to provide recommendations for manufacturers. About 300 pairs of pastels (with both pastels from the same brand) differ by a DE00 of 2 or less. Likewise, many pastel sets contain overly finely gradated colour series. Removing these redundancies would simplify pastel sets without compromising colour offerings. Many pastel names convey no colour information; labelling each pastel stick with its Munsell specification would allow pastellists to make informed purchasing decisions without relying on questionable colour reproductions.