Girault

Hello, friends!

How does working with color affect you? Which colors do you prefer during the winter months? And which ones are your absolute favorites?

For me, there’s immense joy in thinking about colors and combining them, whether it’s on a painting, a palette, or in some other form. This past week, I’ve been arranging pastel sticks into curated sets, and I’m crafting them exclusively from the collection of French pastels by Girault.

Yes, you heard that right! We’re currently collaborating with Girault to create a special set just for you!

Girault pastels are high-quality, striking a balance between soft and hard brands. They’re less oily than some other brands but not overly firm. They lie beautifully to pastel paper and come in an interesting color palette.

In my curated sets, I’ve selected colors that are versatile enough to work on a wide variety of themes and are equally convenient for both studio work and plein air painting.

My ideal set of 25 colors is now available on the Girault website, along with an expanded version of 75.

I adore muted colors and have, of course, selected mostly restrained and highly practical shades for painting. However, Girault also offers a range of vibrant colors. It was with these bright shades that I first experienced the quality of Girault pastels about a year ago.

It was fascinating to combine Girault pastels with other brands in a single work. As always, this is a highly dynamic process where there isn’t a "best" pastel in terms of quality—there are simply the right colors and the appropriate density of sticks for a particular layer.

I’d like to share an observation with you regarding the abundance of colors we use. It’s wonderful to have a wide range of shades in your studio since you never know what palette you’ll feel like working with tomorrow. However, when preparing to work on a specific subject or series, it’s worth carefully selecting the key colors and limiting your palette.

For each new subject, I create a specific set of pastel. An excess of colors can shift focus away from the main idea. For an interesting exercise, try counting the number of colors you use in a particular painting, then significantly reduce that number to the bare minimum needed. It can lead to surprising results!

Best of luck with your creative projects! I hope you enjoy our collaborative sets with Girault and that your collection is enriched with this remarkable material.