Lift the lid and just look. The Art Spectrum Soft Round Pastel Deluxe Wooden Box Set of 154 is the dream box: every one of the 154 shades in Art Spectrum's Soft Round Pastel range, hand made in Australia and presented in a wooden box. Art Spectrum calls it the Deluxe Full Set, and it is the most complete collection the brand makes in its Soft Round range.

This is the set pastel artists put on their wish list for years. Pale, whispering tints. Pure, glowing pigment. Darks so deep and velvety they swallow the light. With all 154 in front of you, you stop compromising with "close enough" and simply reach for the exact colour you see.

What Is in the Deluxe Wooden Box

Every stick is a small work of craft. Art Spectrum hand makes its Soft Round Pastels from the finest lightfast pigments at maximum concentration, with the bare minimum of binder, then triple mills them to bring out that rich, velvety bloom pastellists fall in love with. Run one across a sheet of Colourfix and you will feel it: buttery, saturated and impossibly smooth.

And it is homegrown. Art Spectrum is a family owned Melbourne company founded in the early 1960s by artist and RMIT fine art lecturer David Keys Snr and Gay Keys. It manufactures its own soft and extra soft pastels and describes itself as 100% Australian made.

The colours follow a beautifully logical code. Most hues come in several strengths, each marked with a letter: D for darkest, N for dark (nero), P for pure pigment, T for tinted, V for very tinted and X for extra tinted. With the full set you hold complete value ladders for colours like Burnt Umber, Phthalo Green and Flinders Blue Violet, from shadow to highlight, ready to model form and light without ever muddying a mix.

Art Spectrum states that its pure pigment pastels are free from heavy metals, asbestos and other toxic substances, and contain no animal fats.

Why This Is Our Dream Set

• The whole range, all at once. 154 shades, matching every Soft Round colour Art Spectrum lists.
• Australian made by hand. Triple milled from lightfast pigments by a family company that has been making artists' colour since the 1960s.
• Value ladders built in. Up to six tint strengths of a colour, so shading is effortless.
• Colours made for our light. Pilbara Red, Australian Red Gold, the Australian Leaf Greens and Jacaranda, tuned to the Australian landscape.
• Pure studio luxury. A wooden box that looks as good on the shelf as the paintings it makes.

How We Use a Big Pastel Set

Work on a toothy surface such as Art Spectrum Colourfix, which grips layer after layer of pastel. Start with darker marks and build up to lighter, softer layers, saving the palest tints for the final highlights. Try a Colourfix Original A3 Rainbow Pad to see how each colour sings over different grounds.

Keep the box open beside you and work in families: lay out the darks, mids and lights of a colour together and you will paint faster and cleaner. Tap off dust rather than blowing it, and map out compositions first in charcoal if you like a loose underdrawing.

Questions About the Art Spectrum Deluxe Pastel Set of 154