Pastels are gorgeous!
Artists often compare pastels to sweets because they are so colourful and tempting!
Unlike paint hidden in tubes, pastel colours are out for all to see – and touch! One of the reasons pastel artists love their medium is that they use their hand directly; there is no intermediary brush between the artist and the surface.
Made in the UK, Unison Soft Pastels are considered the best pastels by many artists, with a huge range of colours and an amazing softness. At Jackson’s we now have three new Unison Collection Sets, exclusive to us, and we now stock their whole colour range in the large stick size!
Unison Colour Soft Pastels
Unison handmade soft pastels contain very little binder, making them truly soft and smooth. In their subtlety and intensity of colour, their fluency and responsiveness to touch and in their delicacy and robustness, Unison Colour Soft Pastels “aspire to perfection”.
There are over 400 colours ranging from subtle greys and earth colours to brilliant reds, blues, greens and yellows using only pure pigments in a cycle of related hues, instead of adding white or black to the colours. The result is intense, vibrant colour not muddied by the blending of colours. They are mixed to meticulous recipes and are based on traditional pigments such as cadmiums, cobalts and natural and synthetic earths.
New Unison Collection Sets
From the huge range of over 400 colours we have asked artists to select sets of colours that would be useful for their particular work. We have just added three new sets to our exclusive artist’s collection sets. The new Unison Collection Sets have been selected by artists Sean Scully, David Tremlett, and Emma Colbert.
Sean Scully and David Tremlett
Read our earlier article Pastels with Potential that includes the well-known artists Sean Scully and David Tremlett who use pastels as part of their painting practice. We also have an interview with Turner-Prize nominee David Tremlett: Pushing the Boundaries of Pastel Painting.
Emma Colbert
Emma Colbert specialises in pastel painting. The Emma Colbert Animal Collection is specifically designed for painting animals. Her work has a realistic appearance, but with a softness and vibrancy only achievable with pastels. She regularly exhibits as a full member of the Pastel Society of Ireland. Emma paints what she loves, British and Irish wildlife, local landscapes and any figurative scenes which interest her.
Emma Colbert describes her 18-stick collection: “The top row of lights should cover light coloured animals. The bottom row of browns should cover a lot of different brown families while the grey and blue shades will cover black animals. The middle row is a touch of vibrancy for highlights and shadow colours. These are my most used colours so I hope it will make for a good set!”
She now also has a 36-stick collection.
Read more about how Emma Colbert uses these colours on her blog.
Large Pastel Sticks
Jackson’s now stock the full colour range of over 400 colours in the large size. Unison Large Pastels are 2.3 times the size of the standard Unison Pastel, measuring approximately 3″ long × 6/8″ diameter (75 mm × 20mm). The stick sizes vary slightly because each pastel is rolled by hand.
Pastel Surfaces and Fixing
Read these useful articles on our blog:
Fixatives Are Not All the Same: Comparing Fixatives for Dry Media
The Wide Variety of Pastel Papers: Comparing Pastel Surfaces
Customer Reviews of Unison Pastels:
Unison is one of the highest rated brands on our website! Read what your fellow artists have to say about them:
– “Tremendous pastels, smooth and just so easy to apply.”
– “best pastels ever, unison is a gem”
– “Cannot praise these pastels enough!!”
– “…endless pigment…so smooth…excellent pastels. Highly recommended..”
– “UNISON pastels are the best – an amazing range of colours from which to choose, with discretion, a suitable palette. And Jackson’s prices are very competitive.”
– “Brilliant quality pastels. Don’t crumble and wonderful tones.”
– “the ultimate pastel imo….some great brands have some really good pastels and some mediocre….Unison\’s pastels are really good all”
– “Lovely earth colour, silky soft as well.”
– “Just the type of pastel I need…recommend it..”
– “Unison are wonderful pastels – trouble is, they are addictive….”
– “Great soft pastel – lovely to use”
– “So smooth and full of color”
– “unison makes the brightest and the most beautiful greens”
– “Great soft pastel – lovely to use”
– “Love the tone!! They don’t crumble.”
– “best on the market”
– “best soft pastel”
– “Love unison pastels, they are a good price from Jacksons”
– “…endless pigment…so smooth…excellent pastels.Highly recommended..”
– “Unison soft pastels are lovely – the colour range is superb – they are buttery soft but don’t crumble. Highly recommended.”
– “Lovely, very impressed”
– “Brilliant quality!!”
– “Well Unison are the very best and with the recent price increases Jackson’s are selling at sensible prices, pleased with my colours.”
Click on the underlined link to go to the current offer on the Unison Colour Soft Pastels department on the Jackson’s Art Supplies website.
Postage on orders shipped standard to mainland UK addresses is free for orders of £39 or more.
