Unison Pastels (opens in new tab) is a range of handmade pastels from Northumberland. Their creator, artist John Hersey, began making the pastels in the 80s after struggling to find a commercial product that matched the quality of colour and consistency of texture he required. Here we're reviewing the Ocean Blue 12-pastel set created in collaboration with artist Zaria Forman (opens in new tab). And they really are a joy to use.
As the name suggests, the set comprises 12 ocean-inspired tones. The richness of colour is luxurious and the smoothness of the strokes is unlike any pastel we've used before. Each pastel is roughly 5cm in length and between 1-1.5cm in diameter. Because each pastel is hand-rolled, there's also some wonderful inconsistency in shape. If you're looking for a medium brimming with colour, which is portable and fun to work with, then this could be your best purchase yet.
This article originally appeared in Paint & Draw issue 4; buy it here (opens in new tab)!
