The Challenge of Finding Good Art Materials

Finding art materials that I like is a real challenge.

I like a certain kind of Pastel Paper. My favorite local art store stopped carrying it.

I purchased 10 holders for my NuPastel chalks. The holders were too big. I solved the problem by wrapping paper around the chalks and shoving them in to the holders.

Now the store no longer carries the holders.

I got around this by buying some pencil extenders and switching to Conte chalks which are slightly smaller than NuPastels. I persuaded the new chalks to fit into the new holders. Of course the art supply store carried tons of NuPastels which can be bought individually in a myriad of colors. The Conte chalks could only be bought in sets, forcing me to take colors I don't need.

Fixing a Pastel 

I have found that Blue Label fixative is by far the best and sells at a very nice price point.

You guessed it. No longer at the local art store (which is the only decent one in the area.)

I am going to try Windsor and Newton. The replacement offered for the Blue Label was over twice the price and was not "workable" fixative. I haven't found any use for non workable fixative. Fixative can deaden the color of a pastel, making it necessary to able to draw or paint over it. So to avoid mud I always use workable.

By the way, I never buy Krylon Fixative. I learned the hard way what multiple sprayings of the stuff tends to do. The result is something like a piece of sandpaper rolled up into a ball. You can't flatten it afterward because it will crack.

Why don't I just move to France, where you can get decent art supplies? Believe me, I've thought about  it, but with the European economic situation and the availability of online shopping (see links above), I'll make do here in Connecticut!