Hi friends! Today I am writing a review on Sennelier Summer Sky pastels. This is the second 6-pack Sennelier set I own, and I might just have encountered a Sennelier extra soft pastel that isn’t. Did I waste my money? Let’s find out!
The Packaging
I wanted to mention this before the review. Recently, I bought a 60-pack Sennelier pastel set from Amazon, and ended up returning it. Why? Because the packaging was so flimsy, all the pastels at the corners of the box were crushed. For such an expensive brand, Sennelier could have used better, stronger cardboard packaging. It makes no sense that cheaper brands come with thick cardboard boxes and an expensive brand like this doesn’t. With that said, the packaging of this set is actually stronger than the 60-pack, if you can believe that.
Price wise, at about CAD$20 for 6, it is cheaper to buy a bigger set. These small sets, however, are a good way to try out the brand, even if the per unit price is higher.
Swatches of Sennelier Summer Sky
I don’t usually swatch pastels, since they look the same as the sticks. While the swatches are mostly the same as the printed swatches, #423 comes out darker than the printed version.
Sennelier Summer Sky Extra Soft Pastels Review
For this Sennelier Summer Sky review, I used the Anthracite paper from Pastelmat. In addition, I let the paper show through for the darkest areas, since the set doesn’t come with a dark grey. Much like my other Sennelier soft pastels, these are soft and buttery, with the exception of #257. It is in no way scratchy like cheap chalk pastels but is relatively harder and less smooth than the others. It took a bit more effort to blend #257 than the rest.
By the way, I don’t usually paint clouds, so this is just a quick painting to test out the pastels. These pastels (except 257) performed just like the other Sennelier 6-pack set I have. They are smooth, buttery, highly pigmented and lightfast. It doesn’t take much to cover the dark paper.
Summary
Sennelier Summer Sky half pastels are a nice stand-alone set you can use to fill in shade gaps you may have. While one shade (257) may be a little harder and less smooth, the set is still of high quality.
These 6-pack sets come in different themes and colours, so you can try the products without a high price tag. However, if you already know the brand, I would recommend getting the larger sets. Buy one from a real art retailer (not Amazon), though! A good art store would never tempt fate by shipping a fragile box of pastels in a non padded envelope. I have had this happen too many times with Amazon that I no longer buy expensive art supplies from them.
