Comments about Great American Art Works Pastel Sets:

I purchased the 60 half stick set, as I was referred by other artists who loved them. The sticks are square edged and very fat. A great size, more like 2/3rds of a full stick, rather than 1/2. Wonderful saturation of pigment load and very consistently buttery and SOFT. I would say they are slightly more firm than Schmincke; perfect for mid to top finishing layers. The range of blues, purple, greens and yellow/oranges are outstanding. There are less options in the range of reds/pinks. And there are no scratchy bits! Fluffy soft application, very uniform in all the colors.
I was just a wee bit disappointed that my set did not come in the cigar style fliptop box, as I was informed that was the packaging for it. It did come in a very sturdy, lightweight wooden box bottom with a lovely cardboard top; it just becomes more cumbersome to negotiate the top and bottom when out in the field.
The set also includes a blank color chart, pre-noted with the color names, in the correct order in the box. You fill in with the pastels yourself -- very handy when you need to reorder!
I would highly recommend this set to anyone looking to try out the brand and enjoys a softer hand in their pastels.

Comments about Great American Art Works Pastel Sets:

I love these pastels. Really soft, nice quality to them. I have a mix of Unison, Sennilier, guralt, and these are nice esp with the unisons. I mostly do landscape and plein air. I bought the McKin. set as well as the pearlesents which are not over the top but subtle. Unison is my favorite, but these are a really nice complement to them! So glad I splurged.

Comments about Great American Art Works Pastel Sets:

I use as a finishing pastel. Very forgiving. Very soft and covers well.I do an under-painting with hard pastels. Then finish with Great American.

Comments about Great American Art Works Pastel Sets:

Bought the Merkle set. Lovely colors.

Comments about Great American Art Works Pastel Sets:

I use many different brands of various softness, but overall Great Americans are by far my favorites, Ludwigs run second. They do go down fast and shatter when you break them, but I still love them. The colors are outstanding. If I had lots of money, I would buy a full set.

Comments about Great American Art Works Pastel Sets:

I find the Great American Art Works pastels a joy to use. My first set was the Animals collection. The half-stick Outdoor Assortment is a wonderful compliment. I love their feel and buttery smoothness. I also am impressed with the color range. I've used them for an animal portrait, for cloudy skyscape, and landscape.