I got new art supplies! This time I got new pastel boards and fixative for my finished works! I ordered two massive 24″ by 36″ Ampersand boards and four 11″ by 14″ grey boards!
Here are the prices for y’all to check if you want to see if you’re getting ripped off somewhere:
AMPERSAND PASTELBORD – WHITE 24 by 36 $22.24
AMPERSAND PASTELBORD – GRAY 24 by 36 $22.24
AMPERSAND PASTELBORD – GRAY 11 by 14 $7.24
SENNELIER FIXATIVE – D’ARTGNY OIL PASTEL $24.16
KRYLON ARCHIVAL SPRAY – UV VARNISH GLOSS $8.95
The pastel boards are amazing, as always! There’s just something about Ampersand’s clay and marble dust covering that feels good against your hand and that solid wood backing makes it feel like you’re making something real. Honestly if you ever want something hands on and includes a lot of sensory information than oil pastels on Ampersand board is a good way to go. Next to clay or finger painting, I’m not sure there’s any other medium that can compete on that front.
The larger sized boards I’ve never bought before. It’s going to be interesting to see how my art scales up. The boards I received have very minor surface scratches that I’m guessing occurred during transportation from Ampersand to Dick Blick. I’ve had boards with similar scratches before, they do not affect your final product. The boards are also the same thickness of Ampersand’s smaller boards which makes these larger 24 by 36 inch boards more fragile. You can feel that fragility when you pick up the boards.
Now I have used the Sennelier fixative before but I’ve never used the Krylon Archival Spray before… I’ll do a review type post later on. I’m going to test them both out on some of my earlier finished boards. Now be aware both of these products are basically poison gases in a can. Follow the instructions on the can and my god do not use them inside your house. Like most art supplies, they can be toxic but used properly aren’t really a problem.
Krylon contains Aliphatic Hydrocarbons, Propane, Butane, Acetone, Methyl Cyclohexane.
Sennelier contains Xylene and Ethylbenzene.
I will go more into depth on both Krylon and Sennelier later!
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