The artist and Caran d’Ache have joined forces to dream up two assortments of 10 Neocolor® II Aquarelle pastels. One in cold shades, playing on a range of blues, greens and pinks. The other in warmer tones with a range of yellows, oranges and umber. Two original palettes consisting of the artist’s favourite colours. Keep up to date with all our art challenges and podcasts by signing up for our newsletter Which paper to use with Neocolor ii All discounts against RRP are made against the United Kingdom Recommended Retail Price (RRP). Unless specified, offers and vouchers are not valid on products which are already discounted from RRP, gift vouchers, books and from the I LOVE ART range. Welsh Farm, Neocolor II water-soluble wax pastel on Sennelier Rough 140lb watercolour paper, (25.5x33cm) Keep in mind that {like oil pastels or regular crayons}you cannot write directly on them {unless used like watercolor, dissolved}because they gunk up the nib or get wax on the fiber tip. It will ruin your pens. With a zillion color choices, how do you choose? How many do you need?

crayons, in the colours above plus: ochre, vermilion, ultramarrine blue, turquoise, yellowish green Neocolors are one of my go-to art materials for art journaling.They are versatile and the colors are luxurious and saturated. They have a buttery smooth texture. I created a wash from the added marks on the gable end wall of the building and was pleased to see that all the marks lifted from the paper to create a flat wash.I added silver grey to sharpen the edge of the farmhouse rooftop and malachite green to add ivy and branches into the group of trees. Scraped shavings of colour were applied directly to the paper then solubilised with a brush to create a transitioned wash effect. Techniques for using Neocolour II Raw sienna was added to the nearer bush and midnight blue for the darker areas and the cast shadow. The distant hill was added by working a short length of a dark grey pastel onto the wet paper, giving the impression of a wooded hillside. BTW, I have used hair spray but you have to get the cheap, old fashioned hair spray, not the new-fangled stuff with special ingredients. I’ve used Aqua Net with success. It also has an unpleasant odor but is much cheaper than art fixative. For children’s art, it’s perfect.

Caran d’Ache Neocolor II Water-Soluble Wax Oil Pastels are available individulay or in tins of assorted colours in sets of ten, 15, 30, 40 and 84. How to paint a snowy farm scene using Neoclour II|Water-soluble wax oil pastels that can also be used dry! Tim Fisher shows how to create a wide variety of effects on different surfaces with Neocolour II from Caran d'Ache. Top features:

I personally do love how easy it is to do watercolour painting with Caran D’Ache Neocolor II, but my favourite way of using these pastels is actually a mix of both wet and dry. In my painting of Yu below, I have added the whites dry to the painting as a finishing touch for highlights. My painting of Yu Morisawa (a.k.a. Creamy Mami) using Caran D’Ache Neocolor II both wet and dry Next day, I added the tree structures and placed shadow onto the buildings using the dark grey pastel. Caran D'Ache Neocolor II Aquarelle Crayon Sets are presented in metal tins. These sets would make ideal gifts. The grass in the foreground was painted using short strokes from the wide range of greens available in the set, using the following colours from light to dark: Chinese green, yellow green, moss green, olive brown and dark green. Neocolor IIs are great for mixed media projects and cover well on many different kinds of surface because they are so opaque. Pretty much the only thing they don’t work very well on is glass.Described as “water soluble wax pastels,” Neocolor IIs are part of an increasingly popular but reletively new emerging medium. crayons, in the colours above plus: light grey, grey, raw umber, salmon, reddish brown, carmine, rose, lilac, light violet 1, Prussian blue, light blue, malachite green, lemon yellow, light olive, dark olive

Scribbling onto a scrap of watercolour paper, I then added a solution of Sahara yellow followed by ultramarine blue into the sky. I created a grey wash and continued it right into the foreground then left the paper overnight to dry completely. Swiss manufacturer Caran D’Ache describes them as “wax oil pastel” with soft, velvety texture which does not does not crumble, ultra-high pigment concentration, superior covering power, luminous colors, and excellent light resistance. By using a waterbrush, which gives a constant supply of water, spatter can be applied from the tip of the pastel .By the way, once the watercolour dries, I did have a hard time using wax and oil-based coloured pencils on top. Even the white pastel pencils had a hard time showing up. This is where the watercolour or acrylic ink would come in handy. Once the crayons have been water activated, they can be repetedly wet and reworked as many times as you like. This may be a turn off for some, but I think this is one of the strengths of the Neocolor IIs. The crayons are so opaque that layering is still very easy, even with them remaining water soluble after the first wash. You can work from dark to light or light to dark, both work really well.