Product Reviews

Blue Earth Nomad 56 🔥

Average: 5 68 Reviews
  • Robin Hanway3/23/2024 5:22 AM
    "Wonderful colors"
    Lovely pastels, very soft, a pleasure to use. They extend the range I had with other brands. I'm learning to use a variety of soft and hard pastels for the best textures and edges.
  • Carol Ann M.1/29/2024 6:37 AM
    "Beautiful Set"
    So far I've only used the set to create a sampler of the set contents. I love the layout of the sticks, it will make value choices so much easier. I must admit I prefer my sticks stored horizontally as opposed to the vertical arrangement of the box, but that's the only thing I'm not thrilled with. The values are well chosen and the hues beautiful. I really love the softness of these pastels, they glide on so easily and blend well. It's also nice the sticks are squared off giving all those wonderful sharp edges to facilitate edgy mark making. I look forward to really diving into the set's use in February when i'll be involved in a 29 paintings in 29 days challenge where I plan on using them exclusively. Will be a great addition to my studio and so easy and compact to take Plein Air. I'm very glad I bought them!
  • Billie Moan4/28/2023 12:49 PM
    "Delivered! Blue Earth Pastel Set of 56"
    Arrived in perfect condition!
  • Sarah Rose4/1/2023 8:48 AM
    "Excellent!"
    Well thought out colors and values for a plein air set or starter landscape set. I’d add in some sky blues and you’re good to go :)
  • Joy Rademacher9/30/2022 4:08 AM
    "Love Them"
    This is the second time I have bought this set. I love the way they feel in your hand, their velvety stroke, and bow they are conveniently arranged in color families and values. I do a lot of plein air painting in the SE USA, particularly marshes and I can exclusively use this set if I wish. Yes, there is so bright red, no turquoise. But the colors it does have are so great and work well together. I especially like to use them on Lux Archival paper.
  • Judith A. Rowland9/3/2022 3:44 PM
    "Handy Happiness"
    Any creative who lives in a small space or travels, wants supplies that work well with their need for more minimal contents. With soft pastels that isn't usually an option. No matter how carefully we pack, it always seems that we need more. Added to that is the fear that somehow we haven'protected our treasured pigments and they will be damaged. The Nomad is a great solution. it doesn't have everything, but it certainly has enough and if we add a few more of our personal favorites, the end result is a very special edition of the right size and shape for our particular needs. And, it fits into our carry on. An easy, hands on and worry free solution to our needs......Particularly the need to carry less, work looser and remove the distraction of too many choices for the piece we are creating.
  • Mary Beadles8/15/2022 11:52 AM
    "Loved the pastels."
    I absolutely love these. They are my "go-to" pastels. I keep the box open at my art table all of the time. Glad I found them and purchased. Will do it again in a heartbeat!
  • L. Harrison8/11/2022 9:08 AM
    "Blue Earth Nomad Set"
    This is my first purchase of Blue Earth pastels. I haven’t had a chance to do a lot of work with them yet I have tested them out briefly and I am loving them. They are velvety feeling & the colors are beautiful. They aren’t overly bright but the shades are beautiful. They aren’t muddy & maybe it’s because the shades are made using the pure color with its complement added instead of using black. I definitely will be buying more of these soon. They arrived in perfect condition thanks to the people at Dakota knowing how to properly package & ship such expensive & fragile items. The way they’re arranged, by color family is another great reason to try them. Thank you BE & Dakota. From a devoted customer, keep up the great work.
  • Lynn Howarth6/25/2022 4:06 PM
    "Excellent product and superb customer service!"
    Thank you Dakota for superb customer service in sending my pastels to my hotel for the IAPS convention! I haven’t had a chance to use them as yet but having tried the Portrait sampler know how good Blue Earth pastels are! This set will be perfect for plein air sessions!
  • Tony Clark3/29/2022 9:15 AM
    "Blue Earth pastels"
    Recently purchased the Nomad set, I love these pastels! They arrived in perfect condition no to the excellent packaging, which is a handy storage box as well. I highly recommend Blue Earth pastels.
  • Lisa Giessel1/6/2022 3:58 PM
    "Great pastels"
    These were my first really nice pastels. They are incredible. I have bought several different brands since, but still feel like these are my go to pastels.
  • Annette Holton11/18/2021 7:45 AM
    "Blue Earth Nomad 56 pastels"
    Absolutely thrilled with these pastels. Arrived in perfect condition from USA to Scotland today. Can’t wait to start painting with them.
  • David Anderson11/14/2021 7:47 AM
    "Nomad Blue earth"
    A beautiful set,soft and buttery.,they produce solid ,bold strokes ,and amazing marks. I only wish I could buy them in Canada as customs take a good few dollars for them crossing the border. Stay safe.David
  • Nancy R Rubenstein10/7/2021 5:37 AM
    "Blue Earth Nomad Soft Pastels"
    Love these Blue Earth Soft Pastels. Beautifully soft and buttery, so rich in pigment...simply the best!
  • Kathy Murdock7/16/2021 11:32 AM
    "Soft and beautiful"
    Very soft great for layering. Beautiful colors.
  • Linda Kuk5/15/2021 7:42 AM
    "Like my limited experience"
    I have not used these much yet, but I like my initial experience with them. I think they will help me continue to learn about using pastels.
  • Tracy Vernon3/19/2021 2:43 AM
    "Blue Earth Nomad 56"
    I absolutely love this set. The way it is laid out makes reaching for a hue or value while painting en plein air so easy and quick. I love the consistency; not too hard and not too soft. Overall, I am extremely pleased with this purchase!
  • Marianna2/19/2021 11:24 AM
    "Super!"
    Wow! I've heard about these pastels, and so I finally broke down and bought a box. I love the feel and texture. I love the way they're arranged and that they don't have wrapping around them, which needs to be removed. I'm so impressed that I will add to my pastel collection more of these lovelies.
  • Mike Ishikawa1/21/2021 6:14 AM
    "smooth"
    I like them so i bought a set as a gift for an artist friend.
  • Rebecca May, Dazzling Blue Productions12/31/2020 5:30 AM
    "Blue Earth Nomad Series"
    Beautiful set of colors. Enjoing the range and variety as I play around with these. I was impressed by how professionally and securely these were shipped to me. They arrived in outstanding condition. Thank you for everything and I look forward to doing business together in the near future!
  • Deb12/18/2020 7:57 AM
    "Love these oastels"
    Blue Earth pastels have such wonderful colors. The Nomad set is great
  • Kathleen Morrison11/29/2020 11:03 AM
    "Nomad 56"
    This is a sweet little box of pastels. I am new pastel artist- this looked like a good way to start. They are on the small size but the different ranges in one color are great. I like these, and I bought the portrait set also.
  • Linda Isakson11/16/2020 5:43 AM
    "Nomad 56"
    creamy soft!
  • Margaret Sordo10/26/2020 11:39 PM
    "Pastels"
    Beautiful colours and creamy soft.
  • Chris Edwards10/12/2020 10:36 AM
    "Good for PastelMat"
    I love the color selection, size of box, how the colors are arranged and the convenient way you can use a stick and put it right back in their position. Love that I have a nice selection of neutrals. The pastels do not work well on UArt 400 grit sanded paper, not smooth and will crumble when blending. Total waste of pastels. But on PastelMat, they work without a flaw. Good buy for PastelMat.
  • Kathy Lux10/5/2020 6:57 AM
    "Great color selection for landscapes"
    I love the buttery softness of Blue Earth pastels and love the compact design of the Nomad set. Cannot wait to take it on the road!
  • Wes Rae10/5/2020 5:44 AM
    "Nomad"
    So far, good. Nice having pastels separated.
  • Debbie8/30/2020 7:21 AM
    "BlueEarth"
    I don't even know where to begin! first the organization makes it sooo easy to select a stick. The consistency and size are perfection!
  • L. Kirby8/17/2020 9:16 AM
    "Blue Earth Nomad 56"
    Beautiful pastels. It is most helpful they are housed by values in the box. Dakota Pastels shipped them right away. I’m delighted!
  • Michael Peters7/19/2020 5:02 PM
    "Good Buy"
    Such a wonderful set I do wish there were a few more "A" selections or more pure shades. I did purchase a few more sticks to augment my set. I do wish the sticks were a bit larger. I do wish now I had purchased some Terry Ludwig's, Ah well next time!
  • Billie Cochrum7/11/2020 2:11 PM
    "Had to have these!"
    I was introduced to these pastels by Alain Picard in his online workshop, The Painterly Landscape, and I knew I had to have the set. I appreciate the landscape tones pastels arranged according to values.
  • Sondra Krick6/5/2020 1:01 PM
    "Blue Earth Nomad 56"
    Awesome colors, great coverage,
  • Linda Gardner5/24/2020 10:33 AM
    "Blue earth"
    Love that they come in value line up
  • Pamela Jean Cook4/30/2020 5:04 AM
    "Blue earth nomad"
    Soft, rich, and with a nice sharp edge. I live how they're organized and stored.
  • Sroldan4/13/2020 10:47 AM
    "Nomad Blue earth"
    I want to give it a 5 rating but just haven't used enough. They are beautiful colors, love the value system that they are already set up for me, love the care in packaging they all were intact and in perfect condition. Using them is my challenge. I have some sennilier pastels which are quite soft but I think these might be softer. I find myself holding them so gingerly because I don't want to crush them, in some respects it great to keep me using soft strokes. I need to get used to them.
  • Josephine Herrera4/11/2020 9:58 AM
    "Missing a color list!"
    Hi, I love the nomad collection. Very creamy and beautiful colors. However, when I opened it up there was no legend telling me what color numbers or names were included.
  • Josephine Herrera4/9/2020 4:27 AM
    "Excellent soft, and conveniently arranged"
    These pastels are beautiful. Good colors, soft, arranged by hue, value, and intensity. I love them.
  • Melanie Beagle4/4/2020 10:03 AM
    "Melanie"
    I’m new to pastel blocks and so the arrangement of values in the box is very helpful to me. I have used Rembrandt pastels for large areas and Blue Earth pastels are very soft in comparison. They go on easily and cover a lot.
  • Sharon Lefebvre3/31/2020 6:37 AM
    "Blue Earth Nomad"
    Love these little beauties. I like to keep them in their box (which I can easily use as a traveling setup). Love the softness and the range of hues.
  • Shelley V. Snow3/20/2020 10:00 AM
    "Blue Earth Nomad 56"
    The set is perfect size to try out these pastels and a fair price. I haven't had the chance yet to use it because of the national situation we all are in. But the colors are lovely and usable and Dakota Service excellent.
  • Mary Jane Card2/28/2020 5:12 AM
    "Blue Earth Nomad pastels"
    The set of pastels arrived intact and quickly to snowy northern Canada. They are beautifully packaged, silky to touch, delicious selection of colours, and exciting to use. A real treat.
  • Sam2/21/2020 5:50 AM
    "Happy with my purchase"
    My package arrived brilliantly packages so as not damage to the precious cargo. The pastels are as smooth as butter and I will be a repeat customer.
  • Helen1/23/2020 9:28 AM
    "Nice Set"
    Of the brands that I have tried so far, I like Blue Earth the best. It is almost as soft as the Schminke line, but not as powdery. It does not look like it in the picture, but the darks are very dark indeed, and the second from the darkest colors are nice, saturated hues. The tints of these colors are not found in most assorted sets. Overall, this set would be well-suited for portraiture, since there are great many pinkish and tanish colors. There are three rows of greens, but only one row of blues. So if you buy this set you might want to supplement it with additional single blues, blue grays, and blue greens to round it out. Red, yellow, and blue are represented, along with purple, green, and orange. There is one row of blacks and grays, along with another row of warm blacks and grays. I wish I could post a picture of the swatches I drew, so that you could get an idea of what the true colors really are. They are more intense and saturated than the picture makes them appear.
  • Christine Amstutz1/4/2020 4:44 AM
    "Nomade set"
    OMG what a pleasure to work with these pastels. It is my first try with Blue Earth pastels. I will be back for more! They are soooo buttery smooth ... have such exclusive colours ...
  • Sunny in Tucson12/22/2019 11:09 AM
    "Great for Plein Air"
    This is a great small selection of colors that is well-packed for taking outdoor.
  • Beverley Drew11/24/2019 10:15 AM
    "Dreamer."
    Lovely buttery pastels. Great colour range & I love the way they are set up, dark to lights. A joy to paint with. Thank you!
  • Sheila Walters11/11/2019 3:40 AM
    "Great"
    As yet unused as they are my Christmas present but they arrived super quick, customer service was good and they were beautifully packaged and look amazing.
  • Carole Degnan10/24/2019 6:45 AM
    "Only the best will do!"
    Quality is amazing!
  • Linda Crisostomo10/22/2019 1:27 PM
    "Exceptional Pastel Set"
    Blue Earth Nomad 56 Use them and keep them in the box! These are too good to mingle with my other pastels. Creamy and smooth, buttery texture! Highly recommend to all my art friends!
  • Anabella Cortes Art9/8/2019 3:57 PM
    "Blue Earth Pastels"
    Love their colors beautiful to use them at the last details of the painting. They are very soft.
  • Bonita DeHaven8/18/2019 10:27 PM
    "Blue Earth Nomad 56"
    I love Blue earth pastels. Soft but easily handled on the paper. Love the shape much better than rounds. Loved the increments of values in this set. Total thumbs up.
  • Donna Tweedle8/15/2019 2:29 AM
    "You always need more pastels!"
    I ordered this set for a trip my husband and I will be going on with some friends. I already have a huge collection of pastels in my studio plus several plein air set ups. Condensed as much as possible, but still a hassle. I’m hoping this quick set will allow me to be ready to paint quickly. I’m very pleased the set came fast. The only problem ,and it may have been my fault was two broken sticks. The colors are perfect for what I intend to paint!
  • William Church7/19/2019 1:48 PM
    "Blue Earth Nomad 56"
    The Blue Earth Pastels are an excellent product but they arrived in bad shape from the USPS. There was pastel dust even on the outer container. When I opened the inner box there was so much dust it looked an all blue/dark violet series. There were also chips and flakes of pastels everywhere. However, once the mess was cleaned up, I would say that the loss was less than10%. First problem I have ever encountered with your shipping.
  • Pam Matchie-Thiede7/18/2019 8:39 AM
    "Blue Earth Nomad - I Like!"
    As a new painter it helps me to have the paints arranged in order of value. I made swatches of the various color and value combinations, in addition to the layout of the box. The pastels go on smoothly and I like the layering. Looking forward to painting on the road and with clips. I appreciated Karen Margulis’ YouTube video. It’s how I found these gems. I have visited Dakota Pastel. The people and the products are great!
  • Debbyn Rapoport6/9/2019 9:05 AM
    "Perfect Travel Kit!"
    Love these! This is the perfect travel set. I needed to add some additional colors in a secondary box, but overall, this set was PERFECT. Great quality with Blue Earth, too!
  • crr5/13/2019 6:47 AM
    "beautiful"
    I am very new to pastel painting, so I don’t have a lot to judge by, but I love using these... they feel like butter! And the colors are lovely. They came highly recommended by friend and teacher. So glad I bought them.
  • Bill Haack4/15/2019 12:56 PM
    "Blue Earth nomad56"
    Well made. Fare value. Great addition to my pastels.
  • Melissa Begay4/11/2019 5:04 PM
    "Just like butter"
    LOVE these pastels. The feel of the blue earth pastels are fabulous. So smooth and silky. The color pallet of the Nomad is gorgeous! You will not be disappointed if you purchase these.
  • Shirley Shirley4/9/2019 8:45 AM
    "Review"
    Love the shape and colors. They are soft and creamy. Only family missing is turquoise. When sprayed with Grumbacher matte fixative it killed the color. What do you suggest?
  • Christine Rooney4/6/2019 7:40 AM
    "A gorgeous set"
    This set will take you through the day. It's all I need for travel! Beautiful natural colors and values.
  • Steph Teeter4/5/2019 6:55 AM
    "Blue Earth Nomad 56 pastel box"
    Nice collection of colors and values. Small sticks but hold together well.
  • Diane3/31/2019 10:37 AM
    "Fabulous!"
    LOVE this set! You are much better than me at pulling colors for a small travel set of pastels. Other than a few more blues, I haven't needed any other colors.
  • Cieljaune3/22/2019 4:43 AM
    "Fine, compact set for Plein air"
    This set shows how useful the Blue Earth approach to palette design is. A few hues laid out in pale-to-dark and saturated-to-neutral versions. IMPORTANT NOTE: The Dakota photos of this set do not represent the neutrals st all well. In the actual sticks, the neutrals are fine, well assorted, and very useful colors. The beautiful near-neutrals are my favorite parts of this set, but the seven pure colors are good when you need to paint a strongly colored passage. The cardboard mini-pochade is a great idea and very useful when you’re going ultra light with your plein air equipment. Add a few hard sticks and you’re set to go.
  • Carolyn B Hancock3/9/2019 12:19 PM
    "Perfect for Portraits"
    The purchase was a treat for me. As a pastel only artist, I haven't bought pastels since the 2017 IAPS convention. As a portrait artist, I wanted pastels that did not need to be broken or unwrapped. Even though this set is not marketed as a "portrait set," the colors looked neutral enough, with all values, that I decided they would work for skin tones. And they do. Love the size and the crisp edges. I did a video using them for painting small shapes. Perfect. https://youtu.be/g0t8ZJwozkI
  • RENEE J SHIELDS3/9/2019 9:20 AM
    "Blue Earth Nomad 56"
    Packaged well. Good pastels. Colors looked brighter on line. They are pretty muted.
  • Gisela Llorens3/9/2019 9:00 AM
    "Excellent"
    I’m in love with this set. Every value and temperature for each hue. Love it.
  • Bonny Teinhart3/9/2019 4:46 AM
    "Blue earth"
    Buttery and perfect size. Referred several of my workshop classmates to you specifically for the blue earth
  • Dr Bill Westerman3/9/2019 2:06 AM
    "Blue Earth Nomad 56"
    These pastels and the method of packaging them for transport and use are excellent.