...on new loves.

I taught high school art for years. Every semester, with a brand new group of would be artists, I'd do a demo of a portrait in pastels. For years. Then one fated day, a student who was frustrated with her progress requested additional insights. While using the pastels at her table I made suggestions while working on the extra paper that I kept available for these moments.
I had the pastel in hand saying things like, "...consider holding the pastel like this..." while working at her desk. And then it happened. Cupid, who was apparently hiding among the pastels, fashioned an arrow from an orange (it HAD to be!) pastel and aimed it at my heart!!! I was instantly smittened with pastels!!!! I said to the student, "Man! Don't you LOVE how these feel?!" Her response was, "You are just a bit strange, Mrs. Reed" . I said, "Yes, yes! We've known that but what about these pastels?"
She was not that impressed but I instantly purchased some professional grade pastels and have been in love ever since.
Which!!!! Leads me to the new love!!!!
I was talking to Betsy, an artist friend of mine, who told me she was giving up pastels to work exclusively in watercolor and wanted to give me all of her pastels. She asked if I had ever worked with Unisom pastels. I told her that I had not and she said I would really like feel of them and she was going to give me hers. I told her that I used Sennelier (which are like the CADILLAC of pastels) and just she just shrugged repeating that I would like the feel. Well, another one of our friends ended up with Betsy's Unisom's but I was intrigued....So I bought a box and it came with a sample of a NEW PASTEL SURFACE!!!!
OMG!!! I was in love all over a again!!!!
The plant that is included here is the what I did to try out the new surface and cupid was zinging around with hearts and orange arrows again! Ahh...new love! Nothing like it!