- Ellie Taylor
Trying Out the RLB Art Box
This month I decided to try out a new art box called the RLB art box. The RLB art box comes with all the supplies and instructions to complete a project included for each month. Instead of subscribing I wanted to try out a box first, so I ordered the 2018 October box. I got the October box because it featured Blick Pastels (which I have been wanting to try out) and a really neat pumpkin painting project.
This is the way the box looks on the outside.
When you open the box this what you see, a packet of instruction with the supplies underneath.
There was a regular pencil for sketching and Cutie Boots liked it because it was easy to bite.
The featured supply of the 2018 October box was the Blick pastels. These pastels came in a box of 12 colors and were soft square sticks. They are available at dickblick.com for $4.11.
The 12 colors were regular rainbow colors and white, brown, and black. These seem to be comparable to the Reeves set of soft pastels for sale on Misterart.com for around $2.98 when you join their VIP club.
For blending the pastels there was a package of cotton swabs. These swabs are definitely an economical blending tool and you can get them in a pack of 375 for $2.50 on Amazon. However, if you want a little more of a professional tool you can get 16 blending stumps for $7.99 on Amazon.
There was also a stick of Elmer's Glue for making an outline around the edges of the picture. These are available on Amazon in two packs of 3 for $6.19.
The final group of supplies was different colored pastel papers, a paper towel for smudging pastels, and a big sheet of paper to put under your project to catch the pastel dust. You can get a 9X12 inch pad of Strathmore pastel paper for $9.86 on Amazon.
There were two patterns for this project included a Starbucks Cup or a pumpkin with acorns.
There was a supplies list and an instruction sheet for both patterns.
Doodlin ' Time !
I swatched the pastels on one of the white papers. The colors are very vibrant and the pastels are very soft and even crumbly. This set of Blick pastels is their student grade and they are great for beginners and hobbyists. There is also an artist grade of Blick pastels available and they are more expensive.
'Pastel Pumpkin Sketch'
by Ellie Taylor
The instructions showed that you could rub graphite from the pencil on the back of the pattern pictures and trace the pattern on the pastel paper included in the box. I just sketched the pumpkin and acorns on the black paper with the pencil. The next step was to take the Elmer's glue stick and outline the pumpkin and acorns with glue. I skipped this step because I wanted to use these pastels just like a regular pastel painting. Then you were supposed to add the colors to your pastel picture. I added orange and yellow for the main body of the pumpkin, purple, blue, and brown for the shadows, and white for the highlights. I added green, yellow, and white for the stem. I used orange, brown, white, and yellow for the acorns. To blend I used the cotton swabs and paper towel.
These pastels are really soft and good for big areas. They can also be used for the final highlights over a harder pastel. I think if I had used a regular blending stump, the pastels would have smoothed out a little better.
This box is really neat because it has a complete project with step by step instructions included and all the supplies needed to complete it. The supplies in this box are enough to make several projects. Also the supplies are easy and economical to find if you need more of them. Another thing I like is that you can just buy the current box and don't have to subscribe.
You can get a subscription for this box beginning at $25 per month. If you don't want to subscribe, you can get the current monthly box for $29.95 once or order a past month's box for $29.95. Shipping is free to the US. For international shipping, rates vary depending on location. Get it at https://www.rlbartboxstudio.com/