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I am an artist and I work with many mediums but my main medium is Pastels.  I love the way they feel in my hand, how they go on the paper, the sound of that mark on sanded paper among many other things.  I work at improving my skills everyday.  I study other accomplished artists and his/her specific techniques hoping to develop more of my own.  Then it comes down to the actual supplies.  All pastel Artists know that you need more of a variety of colors as pastels are a dry medium and they don't mix to make other colors like other  mediums.  There may be some slight mixing going on but it's really never the right color.  It's not only the color but the value of that color.  So if you have a mint green you need all nine values of that mint green right? Then the different brands and they all have a different quality about them.  Even in the different brands the colors my sift just slightly.   Subconsciously I believe that the more pastels I have the better my paintings will be.  Consciously I know this NOT to be true.  But I still have more pastels that I can handle but yet I still say I need this one more set.   This is my conundrum for sure.   When I picked up oils again like many other artists I thought I needed many of the colors.  When you really only need 6 colors and white.  You need a cool and warm of each of your primary colors.  You can mix every color you will ever need including your neutrals.  Not so much with pastels. Are my purchases justified?  Probably not but it does feel good to have all those pastels.  I think that I am leaning on being a hoarder of art supplies.   My studio does not look hoarded up but if you need anything in the way of art supplies I probably have it in my stash.  What I will say is I am very lucky to have the space for all those art supplies and a space to create without boundaries.  Everything I need is at my fingertips.  Now if I can only find what I need!!!!