This set is a collaboration between Unison Colour and the well-known pastel artist and tutor Les Darlow. It includes 18 full-stick Unison Colour Soft Pastels. Unison Colour Pastels are made in Northumberland and contain only pure pigments. Unison groups the colours together in sets of related hues, instead of adding white or black pigment to the colours. The result is intense and vibrant shades, not muddied by the blending of colours.
As Les says, "The range of pastels I have chosen here are what I use most of the time, and have been used for all the paintings within gallery. I have some favourite colours in the Unison range. A49 is probably my favourite pastel; it is a dark Prussian Blue, which adds so much tone and depth to my color mixing. There is a great turquoise range, another of my favourite colours, plus those gorgeous subtle yellows which I use to replace the harshness of white. The colours chosen in the ranges are perfect for painting landscapes if you like painting sunrise and sunset."
Alongside Unison pastels, Les also uses Jackson's Square Soft Pastels. As Les says, "I have always used Unison Pastels, and purchased them for my students, but we often need a slightly harder pastel, so not to fill the tooth too quickly, so I also purchase Jackson’s Square Soft pastels for my students... Overall, a great pastel for the price."
