Home Forums Explore Media Pastels Materials what about grumbacher pastels?

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  • #985495
    Shari
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        An artist recently told me she loves the old grumbacher pastels and I am wondering if anyone uses them. I like that they are square shaped, but I can’t imagine they could be nearly as good as what we have available now. I saw some on ebay and was just wondering if they are worth trying.

        Shari
        www.etsy.com/shop/shariarts

        #1065988
        jmp
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            i bought a few from an open stock at an art store now out of business, i hear they stopped making them. pastels, even from the same brand, can differ a bit from color to color, so I can only say this about the several that I have- they are soft but in a very dry way, they don’t have that creamy consistancy that sennelier or schminke have….and only once did i ever come across someone saying that it was the brand they prefer. still, i think the more pastels the better! every brand can always be used for something! if the price is right….

            JMP

            #1065983
            khourianya
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                The grumbacher pastels are now made by Prismacolor. I really like my old grumbachers, but be forewarned that the rectangles ren’t the only shape they come in…there are also round ones. I like both but they are slighlty different

                Cori Nicholls
                #1065984
                bluefish
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                    Shari;

                    I have some of the original square shapes and they are a really nice pastel. Not as soft as GA, but they also don’t crumble like some other popular brands. Don’t be afraid of picking up sets of the original square ones – you’ll like them!

                    bluefish

                    #1065992
                    HarvestMoon
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                        yes- they are the prismacolor softs- dick blick has them- really nice and soft-
                        Linda

                        Harvest Moon 🐐

                        #1065986
                        dlake
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                            Yeah, if you buy the Prismacolor softs you’ll get the grumbacher. They kept the same formula and shape and everything. I think Dakota also carries them.
                            They are still very popular.
                            diane

                            #1065989
                            jmp
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                                well well….thats interesting info…my local art shop carries the “new” prismacolor…now I can safely buy !

                                JMP

                                #1065985
                                artc
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                                    Hi Shari….I really,really loved my Grumbacher pastels….I have a little tiny box of them that I got a few years ago…..I also lurk around EBAY looking for Grumbacher and FWWeber pastels set….I saw a 30 piece Grumbacher set on EBAY about 6 weeks ago…..I didn’t buy it because the cardboard box looked like it had water stains on it….Art
                                    Tnx info on Prismacolor softs…next time I see these I’ll try em.

                                    Artie

                                    AJC DESIGN STUDIOS
                                    #1065982
                                    Khadres
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                                        I actually started in pastels with a complete set (around 250) of the old Grumbachers which I’d salvaged from stock when I sold my art supply shop’s inventory back in the late 80’s. They are still mixed in with my newer sticks and I think they’re as good as most brands out there today. As someone said previously, they’re not quite as creamy smooth as GAs or Schminckes, but they have good pigmentation (and the color designations are by pigment, not name ie. Quinacridone violet, etc. so you have an idea what’s really in them) and the sticks are sturdier than many. If you can find them, they’re well worth trying.

                                        Sooz
                                        __________
                                        The Bay Window Gang -- Our very own Neighborhood Watch team!

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                                        "Real learning comes quietly, unannounced, without a parade." Elizabeth Mowry
                                        #1065987
                                        dlake
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                                            Sooz,
                                            I think I”m following you down the thread list…
                                            Anyway, from what I hear about the grumbachers, they sound like a good, solid little pastel. Easy to find. If they are the same formula, you can find prismacolor at all the major stores online like Jerry’s, Dick’s ect.
                                            Diane

                                            #1065998
                                            Mary Ann Pals
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                                                Just yesterday I bought a 132 piece set of the old old Grumbachers (the round ones BEFORE the square kind came out) on Ebay. This was a real find! They’re called the Degas set and they come two layers deep in a wooden case. I’m thrilled that I won the bid on them.

                                                I cut my pastel ‘teeth’ on Grumbachers many years ago and have always loved them, but I haven’t purchased any of the newer ones. The very old ones are highly pigmented, come in some unique colors, and are consistently soft, like Unisons.

                                                Now I’m counting the days until my new-old set arrives at my door. : )

                                                [FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]~Mary Ann Pals~ [FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]Member: Northern Indiana Pastel Society,

                                                [FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]Great Lakes Pastel Society, Pastel Society of America

                                                [FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]www.maryannpals.com, tinyurl.com/maartblog

                                                #1065981
                                                Deborah Secor
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                                                    Wow–another one from the archives… This was originally posted in 2006. (I miss Sooz!)

                                                    Good on ya, Mary Ann. Fun to find ‘old standbys’ are still around. Enjoy your new..uh…old pastels!

                                                    Deborah

                                                    Deborah

                                                    "All glory to Him, who alone is God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord."
                                                    Landscape Painting in Pastels (free online book)
                                                    Gouache Blog

                                                    #1065990
                                                    Don Ketchek
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                                                        Wow, I didn’t even know they made round ones! The square Grumbachers were my first “artist grade” pastels. I think I had 5 or 6 of them! That was before I knew you had to have hundreds!

                                                        Enjoy them – they don’t make them like they used to!

                                                        Don

                                                        #1065994
                                                        pastel lover
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                                                            I LOVE my Grumbachers! I have 4 smaller sets that I have collected from yard sale & ebay, in fact anytime I see them I buy them. I have both the square & the round but prefer the square. The vintage colors are the attraction for me – the portrait set is luscious. If you like unusual colors, you would probably like the vintage Grummies.

                                                            Tanja

                                                            Pastel Lover

                                                            You may view my art at ~ www.tanjawareart.com
                                                            [FONT=Arial Narrow]"Find out who you are and do it on purpose." - Dolly Parton

                                                            #1065993
                                                            IMaybe
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                                                                :wave: I love the grumbacker’s!!!! I was given 7 artbin boxes compeltly full of them and thats what got me started in pastels! I stacked those boxes up for two years and just looked at them wondering what to do. I was into watercolor at the time—-finally I began to play with them and just loved them. Also was given 167 rembrants at the same time, Such fun!! Now I have many other brands, but always begin with Nupastel–then grumbackers and rembrants!!! The sienna’s are so nice and the blues in grumbacker and the pigment is strong, the way they step down the values is so good, and you know what the pigments are. I love TL’s and Mt Visisons, and W&N’s and Unisons, Senniler’s—-but I will always love the grumbackers just as much and am so glad to have them. Squareish retangulars and rounds!! The Caput Mortums are great, too. and Indain Red, I have my fav’s!

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