There’s a popular tendency for pastel pencils to be used as a medium for creating realistic images, and the subject matter often includes portraits, animals and still life. Because of their ability to depict fine detail there is no doubt that, with a little patience, some great results can be achieved.
But if you’re someone who likes to produce work that is less realistic and ventures into more impressionistic territory, there’s no reason why pastel pencils can’t be used to create loose and lively paintings. Perhaps, in a way, the finished image might be better described as a drawing rather than a painting, as they are pencils after all. Obviously you won’t be able to produce the broad strokes you can achieve when using pastel sticks, so a certain amount of compromise has to be made. The pigment in a pastel pencil is more robust than soft pastels so that it can be sharpened, which means it is quite a bit harder. As with soft pastels, different brands have different degrees of hardness and softness, and although I have accumulated a large number of CarbOthello pencils over the years I also have other brands in my collection. FaberCastell are
