I put this question to myself when I was asked to teach studio and plein air Pastel
Landscape workshops at Albany Summer School this year.

As I compiled the materials list, I wanted to understand every option from both a painting and
cost perspective. I didn’t want to put people off with a kit list that would set them back more
than the course, but I was also aware that I wanted my participants to produce work they
could be proud of.
There is an old proverb that dates back to the 1400’s warning that ‘A bad workman blames
his tools’. I decided to put this to the test.

Sets are an easy option: lots of colours, and you don’t have to think - or do you? Achieving
the right colours for the Australian landscape is trickier than it might seem. I bought three
brands to compare, along with my curated selection of favourite colours.
I painted the same scene using self primed matboard and AS Colourfix paper. Here are my
thoughts on the sets:
Mungo:
I didn’t love them. They are hard, lack pigment, and they don’t go far.
Art Spectrum Landscape set:
This was the best option from the sets, but it doesn’t contain a good dark, and the blues
aren’t what I would use. There were also some colours that I wouldn’t use at all.
I found I was challenged to mix the colours to get the look I wanted, and I actually really liked
the results! It was helped by using self primed mat board which allowed me to really layer
and push the colours.
Possibly it is because these are designed for European landscapes, but the colours didn’t
work for me. I found the dark was too hard and brittle, and the blues didn’t resonate with our
skies.
Sarah’s Mix 1:
Initially I tried to build on the AS Landscape set, but it worked out to be more cost effective to
just use the right colours from the outset.
Sarah’s Curated Mix:
In the end, and no surprise, it was my own combination of brands and colours that worked
best for me, and this is what I will go with. The old adage is wrong: you can blame your
tools.
I have just been to the UK and I was struck by how different our big skies and blue greens
are; developing your own limited palette that resonates with the local colour and works over
a multitude of scenes and landscapes is the key to satisfying painting.
I will be teaching a Landscape and Still Life workshop at Albany summer School in January
2025, and based on the class results, I will definitely be using my personal selection again!

To view the video I made about these brands, check out my Sarah Pondevie Art YouTube
channel.