Scoop on Great American Artworks Hard Pastels

HarvestMoon · #1 06-07-2005, 01:31 PM

The other GA forum got so big I am letting ya'll know that I called GA yesterday rather snarly asking where the rest of my full monte was (it had been awhile)- he said he had mailed it last week. right. but there it was in my mailbox yesterday- with 3 free samples! I called to tell him it arrived, and thank him for the samples, and he said those are samples of his new HARD pastels- he said the size, etc. would change, but the texture would be the same- and the texture is devine! I believe they will be rather thin like giraults but with a much softer texture. They are not crumbly at all- just creamy and smooth as silk- he plans to start production on them in 2 weeks! I can't wait- I like giraults for their detail, but for some reason they wreck havoc on my hands like no other pastel does- and GA's colors are so COOL can't wait to see what he names them! I hope Bob Dylan makes the list somewhere- what color would he be? How about PINK Floyd? I KNOW what color Johnny Cash would be... how about Sweet Baby James Blue?

Also- just talked again to GA- there will eventually be 100 colors of the hard, AND there will be 100 colors of a new MEDIUM pastel.... so they will really be cranking out the pastels over there!!!

CarlyHardy · #2 06-07-2005, 01:45 PM

Great American is also coming out with a new shape! One side will be flat so they don't roll off the table anymore. I signed up for a first shipment at IAPS. I bought a landscape set of GA a couple of years ago and have used all of them. They are one of the creamiest soft pastels that it feels like painting with oils!
carly

Bringer · #3 06-07-2005, 01:46 PM

Hi,

what about a Garfield Orange ?

José

Khadres · #4 06-07-2005, 02:52 PM

Banana Split (a nice muted naples yellow)? Baby Doo Green (you know the color on that one!)? Little Old Lady Hair (blue)? sorry...this could get bad in a hurry!

O'Aieghlans · #5 06-07-2005, 03:35 PM

I don't mean to be a wet blanket but cutesy names for pastels strikes me as kind of stupid. We've spent years trying to get people to take pastels seriously and not regard them as being on the same level as children's finger paints and sidewalk chalk! (just for the record I hate cutesy ice cream too).

HarvestMoon · #6 06-07-2005, 04:08 PM

Dan- single scooper, party pooper! (just kidding you) but when someone says- Goldenrod, I know just what color that is. When they say A 49 (unison), 005 (selliner), vanadiumgelb hell, jaune de vanadium clair, or donkergeel, (for a few other brands) it really does not make me envision the color. The point of the message was that Great American Artworks is coming out with new pastels- 100 medium hard ones, and 100 hard ones starting this summer. I think we can keep the humor of the names of some to ourselves, and not tell any clients what the names of the colors are- specifically that is.

Khadres · #7 06-07-2005, 04:51 PM

The only names that really bother me are the number codes...who's supposed to memorize those??? Otherwise, they can call the stuff by the scientific name as long as they don't expect me to know how to pronounce it right off the bat or they can name it after their Aunt Patty...it's not like buyers of our art peek in our boxes of pastels and find out how silly we are with color names....or aren't. A little whimsy sometimes can be fun altho I agree one can take it too far, as did I. Sorry!

khourianya · #8 06-07-2005, 04:56 PM

bah - who cares what they're called...all I care about is how I am going to get them into my collection!

Laura Shelley · #9 06-07-2005, 07:21 PM

Actually, I would much prefer "vanadiumgelb hell" to something like "Buttercup"! (But I can read German, so that's just me.) I'm a pigment wonk, and I like to know exactly what's in my art supplies, which is one reason I am making most of my own pastel sticks these days. A label reading "PB15; Pthalocyanine" MEANS something, whereas "Deep Ocean Blue" could be anything, including cheap fugitive pigments--and I tend to assume that anything NOT labeled with a proper pigment number must be ashamed of its contents.

That may not be the case at all, but that's my personal impression, and so, although I hear many good things about GA pastels, I am a little biased against them for their naming conventions alone.

Laura

Deborah Secor · #10 06-07-2005, 10:01 PM

Well, the good news is that at least with the GAs you can get all the pigment names on request, those of us who like the idea of painting with a color called Burnt Reynolds can snicker as we paint (don't tell me the average American baby boomer can't name that color for you

), and the rest can call it by it's part number!

I have to tell you that Bob Strohsahl is a nice guy with a dry sense of humor. He doesn't take things too seriously, except making his fine product, and he has fun doing it. At first I felt a lot like Dan about the names, thinking them fatuous and a bit silly, until I met Bob and found out they match him.

Why shouldn't a product bear the creative mark of the maker? Burnt Reynolds, French Roast and Moss identify the colors well for me, and once you've seen Atmosphere and Bismarck, Zest and Rondo, you know the colors. And then there's Dead Head (think Caput Mortem and you're there.)

Deborah

Khadres · #11 06-07-2005, 10:02 PM

Well, to each his/her own, I guess. I'm just not that anal about it unless there have been studies proving that some colors are fugitive as with some of the NuPastels. If a brand has done a good job for other professionals, I'm okay with it. I can certainly understand where the purists are coming from and encourage them to go to whatever lengths they need to to ensure that their colors last forever, etc. When it comes to art supplies, word gets around pretty quickly on which is the "good stuff" and which isn't, so, in the meantime, I'll go ahead and rely on well-known and well-reputed brand names and be happy.

Khadres · #12 06-08-2005, 12:17 AM

For those who are interested in such things, I just looked at my handy dandy Great American Art Works pastel chart for 2005 and found, lo and behold a full listing of C.I. Names (pigment codes, I take it...the guy who makes these is a master chemist, BTW) and lightfastness index. The vast majority of the colors are rated #1, meaning totally lightfast with a few #2s here and there...there are no, 3s that I could see, and no 4s or 5s, so that looks pretty permanent to me. Also, the proper name of these things is indeed Great American Art Works Soft Pastels and they are made by Bob Strohsahl, not a company named Great American.

Laura Shelley · #13 06-08-2005, 01:06 AM

I'm very glad they supply a pigment list, because there are manufacturers who seem to consider that proprietary information and won't say. It's not a question of wanting to make my artwork last until the universe collapses, which strikes me as hubris, though when I sell something, I would like to think it won't fall into ruins until it's been long enough that the customer can't track me down.

Some time ago, I read the pigment list and lightfastness ratings for Sennelier pastels--obviously a well-known brand--and I was very surprised to find that many of their colors used pigments with the *lowest* ratings. These are colors that are likely to fade well within your lifetime. The violets and bright oranges are particularly at fault. Ever since then, I've been just a little skeptical of commercial pastel lines. I won't go as far as Virgil Elliott and stop using pastels altogether--but I will always make sure what I'm paying for.

Laura

Merethe T · #14 06-08-2005, 07:35 AM

Hm, I've heard so much about these GA's now, I'm actually excited to hear they'll be available as hard pastels aswell, as I prefer harder pastels for my animal portraits. Gonna have to try them....

I've been thinking I need to try the soft ones too, guess I'll be paying Dakotas a little visit soon... I want to know what you all are so excited about!

Merethe

Khadres · #15 06-08-2005, 09:21 AM

I'm surprised about the Senneliers, too! You'd think they were the Holy Grail, to hear the company tell it, but I also wonder...and perhaps you who make your own know why...why is it that the yellows are such a problem in many lines? Even the Schmincke yellows are among their lowest rated for permanence. Is it because pastel makers don't dare use cadmium or chrome anymore? And why would violets be a problem? I have a treasured few Cadmium yellows and oranges put out years ago by Grumbacher...they are beautiful, but dangerous, I suppose. Of course, I don't tend to eat mine and try not to breathe them either.

Kitty Wallis probably has the scoop on a lot of the pigments, but she's Missing in Action lately.

And yes Merethe...you really should try GAs! They're a real treat. I was lucky enough to get a new color chart and seeing all the shades printed out together is a feast for the eyes!

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