 Okay, so we are here at Mount Vision Pastel Company in Tampa, Florida, and it's just a wonderful opportunity for us to meet the owner, Carl Kelly, and the manufacturer who makes these beautiful pigments and pastels that we can use in our artwork. So Carl is so nice to meet you. Carl and I began to discuss the history of Mount Vision Pastels. It began in an old general store on the top floor in Mount Vision, New York. As the principal paint maker for a small oil paint company, Carl began researching recipes to see if he could translate the particular color and density to the medium of pastels. Carl's commitment and dedication has resulted in the beautiful color palette that makes up Mount Vision Pastels. When I asked Carl what made him decide to move his facility from New York to Tampa, he said of course the warm weather, but seriously, Florida's climate is perfect for baking these pastels to their most beneficial consistency. If there could be a doctorate degree in color, Carl Kelly would certainly have it. It seems to me he's more of a color scientist. I got pretty excited when he asked me if I would like him to make some samples of pastels. I could make a little sample. That might be useful. All right. We've got Carl here actually making some pastels, and I know inquiring minds want to know how this process works. Carl, you just lead us through it. All right. What I'm doing is making a sample color for one that I'm thinking of adding to the line. Okay. So these, everything is done by weight and or volume, like the liquid pigments. So I've weighed everything out here, and then I have a light solution of basically water and a little bit of methyl cellulose. Wow. And did I read correctly that the methyl cellulose is the same ingredient used in milkshakes? It's used in many things. I think that is why, yeah, the, the, the particular methyl cellulose that I use is actually a food grade product. So it can be. Oh, okay. So it can be, yes. Never mind. Yes. So eating them, you won't be, you won't die. You won't die from the binder. Let's put it that way. Okay. All right. So, um, yeah, and this, it's basically just mixing it up into a dough so that it's dry. And so like the trick is the, the consistency, you know, you've just got to get the proportions right, I'm sure. Pretty much. Yeah. It's just getting them wet enough to mold into a stick. Like making pino. Yeah. Yes. And it's looking like what you've combined here. We're going to end up with some sort of a turquoise-y, cool blue, cool blue. Yeah. It's a soft, um, very cold kind of, almost minty green. I spent, I spent the month of, uh, February in, in New Mexico and got many new ideas for the colors. Oh, nice. There. Is it from just your visually perceiving the landscapes? Yeah. Is that your ideas? Yeah. Okay. So you were inspired by the, the colors around you. Yeah. Yes. My wife and I spent the month there in, at an artist's residency and, and had time to, you know, to work and to hike and, and explore. So. Nice. Wow. Wow. It's a cool profession to be able to go and see the beauty of the creation and, uh, emulate it through color. Well, we certainly appreciate that. Yeah. I didn't realize it was so pliable. Yeah. Right? And now I see what you mean a little bit more of a minty before it was completely mixed. I was seeing it a little bolder, but now yes, I see what you're saying. Okay. I have a question. I saw you take something what I thought was white out of here and then I saw you go get titanium white. So I'm assuming this is something else. What is this? Yeah. Yeah. This is the marble dust. Yeah. It's a calcium carbonate. So that's, is that the binder? No. That's basically the base. The base. For the pastels. Okay. And then I saw you take some granulated color and some liquid color. So why? Yeah. The combination and, um, it's, it's a question, um, what I was using was an ultramarine blue, which is, which is this, you know, which is that. It's very vibrant. And the other is a, um, synthetic airline yellow and, um, at times it's just easier. I get it already mixed with water. It's just the pigment mixed with water and, um, it's oftentimes just easier to use it that way for the measuring amounts. Carl continued to work. Creating different values from the original color that he had made. He was also nice enough to show us his color notes where it basically gives the recipe for his color creations. We also continued to talk about the benefits of Mount Vision Pastels and how they are beneficial at every stage of a painting. What is it that Goldilocks wanted in her bed? One that wasn't too hard or too soft, but just right? Well, that's what you get with Mount Vision Pastels. They can be used for your initial layers of your painting and work very well. And they can also be used for that vibrant punch of color at the end of your painting. But over here, behind where he was standing, Susan, look at this long string of some color of pink. It looks like it came out of a pasta machine. How did you roll so much or how did, is there another process? Okay. Well, we need to get to that, don't we? I have a small restaurant mixer. So it's the same thing that I just did only on a slightly larger scale. So the pigments are in here, mixed with the, and then mixed in the mixer. So they get mixed, you know, basically to the same consistency. Right. Yeah, sort of as a cookie dough. And then I have a sausage stuffer. A sausage stuffer, I love it. So this is, this is the size of you making breakfast links. As opposed to, you know, sort of the kielbasa size. Oh my goodness. We would never have a drawer for those to fit in. So why do you don't? Yes. So then you take said dough here, that's been here. And then there's a plunger that goes on the top and pushes it out, extrudes it. How about that? And then it goes on to the boards there. And you cut it before it's dry or you let it dry to some point? No, I'll then set those outside to dry a little bit. They're a little too soft. Uh-huh. So it's going to feel, well, these are actually getting a little harder, but they're, you know, but they're relatively soft. A little pliable still. Yeah. And so I'll let them stiffen up just a little bit more, and then I'll cut them to size and then roll them on a phone book, and that's, the other half of the batch is the pink that's on the drying rack there. Carl took us outside so that we could see his system for drying pastels. These pastels happen to be part of his iridescent set. In the sunshine, you could see the addition of marble dust, which makes for its beautiful sparkle. And as Carl Wayne came in, was how he had all these put away and stored, and I want you to look at this, and it doesn't just make you go. Every drawer has a number, and there they are. I mean, wouldn't this be, this would drive you crazy to have a big collection like Oh. We just stepped into pastel artist heaven, that's what we did. Carl, I think we would really love it if you would let us just bring our easels in here. Carl, what is, what is the set that we're looking at here? So this is, this is the basic workshop set, a basic 50 piece set, sort of to get started with. Notice it's got, you know, like the warm and cool primaries, right? And then a nice range of neutrals and, and also grays. Yes. So this would be good for someone starting out. Yeah. Just to get started. You got a little bit of everything. And then. Yeah. Yeah. So we start with a 50 piece set, and then we made another 25 piece set that will work in, in addition to those. In addition to these, and there's no duplicates, and there's no duplicates between them. Right. And then we make two other sets, one a 25 piece set, which is more geared, geared towards the landscape, and then another sort of more geared towards the figure. Okay. So that would be a great way for somebody just starting out, to start with the 50, and then based on, and then perhaps go with this, this next one here, and then based on what their preferences are, you maybe get the portrait or the landscape in addition. Yeah. Yeah. It gives you a nice, a nice working palette. What I usually wanted to ask you was what do you find that people like to order the most? What is one of your most popular sets? Well, the most popular set by probably a long shout out of the Thunderstorm Grey ones that I made when I first moved down here to Florida. I was queuing between Tampa and Sarasota for, for summer. And I would be driving back every late afternoon, early evening, and you can just see all the Thunderstorms coming in. And I got fascinated by, by the colors. Look at these iridescence. Oh, I know you guys in Monet Cafe are going to be drooling over these. These are brand new. Brand new. I saw them on the Dick Blick website, I do believe, but I don't think they're in their catalog yet. So hot off the pastel press. Wonderful. Oh, well, ladies, we got to buy, and men, gentlemen, we're not all ladies in Monet Cafe. We got to buy some more pastels. This is what I'm doing with some birthday money. This is my treat. Happy birthday. Okay. That sums up our tour. And I just got from Carl his beautiful set of iridescence. I even got the darks as well. So I'm so excited. I'm ready to go paint. Carl, I have to thank you so much for your time. And what an education we got. And I know you guys are going to want to buy some Mount Vision pastels now. What an absolutely perfect day for a pastel artist to be around. Beautiful color and beautiful friends. So thank you for joining me in this Monet Cafe production, where we learned a little bit more about how pastels are made. And as always, happy painting.