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Soft pastels

Ted introduced these to many of us this season and we found it a very pleasant new medium. We purchased sets of these and they work very well, so posted here for reference or in case people want to get a set of their own. https://amzn.eu/d/320cCjc As always, an Amazon link simply given as its easy, there may be other sellers out there.

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Simple light source

If you don’t have a dramatic light source that emphasises the contours of the model you end up with a very ‘flat’ rendition. Where we work the overhead fluorescents don’t help. I recently came across this and though I haven’t actually used it for portraiture yet I think it’s worth a try.

Very lightweight, clips onto the board on your easel and can be manipulated to get an interesting angle. Battery powered so no fiddly leads, supposed to last for over 30 hours before a recharge.

https://amzn.eu/d/g370nuh

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All weather carry case

Given Newbiggin weather is often not quite tropical and calm, if you feel the need for a carry case to take your artwork back and forth, this is one several of us are using. You can pay a lot more for more substantial ones, but this does seem to be standing up to wear and tear so far. It has an additional aspect in that your work is visible, so walking around residents see what we are doing – which is nice.

https://amzn.eu/d/holonpp

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Proportional divider

If you are one of those who squints at something while trying to measure using your pencil to get proportions, or struggles with angles, or wants to scale up or down an image then consider one of these.

This is an Amazon link and there will be alternative suppliers. No we don’t get anything back from Amazon, its purely an easy example to reference.

I use mine all the time, lightweight and far less fiddly than trying to use a pencil as a measure.

https://amzn.eu/d/cSpP3Fm

Proportional divider set
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Useful when working with pastels

For people enjoying the pastel work I got these the other day and like them. Enables blending in quite a subtle way and not as messy as fingers or paper stumps (which you have to keep sanding clean) – you do need to wash them occasionally and I have bought two lots now, one for darks and one for lights. Anyway just sharing in case anyone is minded to try…. https://amzn.eu/d/4LetGiL

It’s an Amazon link but I am sure they exist with other suppliers.