I’ve been coveting a set of Terry Ludwig pastels for a very long time. The trouble is they are quite expensive and you just can’t buy them in Tasmania. So by the time I’ve added postage from the US the “quite expensive” has soared to stratospheric heights of extravagance.
When I retired The Writer kept urging me to spend a little something on myself as a reward for sticking it out so long. I drooled over the full set of Terry Ludwig hand made pastels for some time even going so far as to ADD TO CART to see what the postage was. The message re postage implied I would need to take out a second mortgage to have the 550 set of delicious, buttery, hand rolled pastels delivered to my door. I sighed and deleted from my cart.
Roll forward 3 months and once again I sat up late into the night poring over the various sets on offer. I agonised about the price but I’d just done a couple of commissions and the bank account was looking OK so I decided to choose a small set and treat myself – I don’t think I posted the Easter baskets painting here previously.
I really felt I was due a reward after all those people and baskets . The client sent a black and white photo and asked me to paint it in an Easter pastels colour scheme. I did a lot of googling to work out just what might have gone into Russian Easter baskets and can now give you a full run down from lamb shaped butter sculptures to the plaited Easter breads with baked eggs embedded in the plaits.
Anyway , suffice it to say a feeling of entitlement prevailed. I debated the relative merits of the general landscape set versus the basic values set and then settled on the violet collection before succumbing to the gentle call of the Richard McKinley landscape set.
I love bright colours and have a lot of them so this set wasn’t my first or natural choice but I kept coming back to it because this set is full of all those muted and soft colours of nature that can be hard to find. It’s going to fill a few gaps in my collection from the grey greens right through to the light hues of soft pinks and creamy yellows. I just love Richard McKinleys art and think I can learn a lot by using his chosen colours to add a little restraint to my vibrant palette. Here’s my first painting using just this box.
Already I love these pastels. It’s incredibly hard to find just the right colour for sage brush and here it was – right out of the box!
I’ll keep you posted on my new love affair with 60 square, yet soft and subtle, pastels.
Lindy Whitton Studio 
I love Terry Ludwigs, especially his choice of greens, bravo for you!
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The greens in this box are wonderful! I do have a lot of greens but it’s often difficult to find the “right” green isn’t it.
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Hope this doesn’t come out twice… Just wanted you to know you can get Terry Ludwig’s for a much cheaper price and shipping price at ‘Jacksons’ a UK art store .
I’ve purchased from them before and been pleased with it.
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Thanks for the info Tanya. I know I’ve bought Unisons from Jacksons before but I didn’t check them this time- now I go and look and you’re right. The postage is staggeringly good so maybe I’ll get myself another box!
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Terry Ludwigs are the bomb. They have made a huge difference in my work.
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I love this “story” and can identify! I have a question: are “The Writer” and the client the same person? Thank you for sharing! 😊
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Hi Betty. The Writer is my husband and the client is someone else ( the person who commissioned the painting).
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I get it! Thanks for the reply!
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Love the finished Easter Baskets, Lindy – beautiful. Good for you for treating yourself.
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Thanks Sis. I do find it hard to treat myself but was pleased I managed to actually hit the BUY button this time!
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Isn’t it frustrating when a daughter says to her sister just what her mother was going to say???!!! So ditto from Claudette’s remarks. But I loved both paintings, the Easter baskets painting looks grand and I can see it must have taken a LOT of painstaking work. And the landscape really has colours that have “luminated” it {if that’s a word?}
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Frustrating yes – but also shows the mother brought the daughter up right!
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Beautiful picture. I know how you feel about Terry Ludwig pastels. I remember how excited I was to receive my first box.
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Thank you Debbie. They are just wonderful colours! I love Unison as well, and Schminke, and Great American Artworks- let’s face it I’m an addict!!!
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I, too, love bright colors, but the subtle colors in your sagebrush painting are wonderful!
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They are delicious aren’t they!
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I have actually been drooling over a set of Terry Ludwig pastels as well!!!! And I too have had to put them on the back burner well because of the expense but I’ve been told they’re totally worth the investment! I have a meager but quite a decent pallette already so I can probably afford the “dark set”!!??
Thank you for posting your amazing landscape painting using the set you purchased really appreciate and just love the painting great job!!😊🐈
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Thanks. I’m loving my Terry Ludwigs!
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