Derwent Pastel Pencil (Burnt Umber P540)
Pastels are usually all about getting your hands dirty but not with Derwent Pastel Pencils. The wide colour strip is powdery and soft so mixing and blending is really easy and because it is encased in wood you get the pastel effect without the mess. 72 vibrant colours Naturally water-soluble Round 8mm barrel Wide 4mm core Soft, wide pastel strip which is partially water-soluble for expressive painting effects. Smooth round barrel made from California incense cedar wood. Barrel stained in a rich natural rosewood. Round 8.0mm diameter barrel gives maximum control and ease of use. Extra wide soft 4.0mm pastel strip provides flexibility of broad and fine strokes. Soft, powdery texture with velvety smooth finish delivers a top quality traditional pastel. Available in 72 pure highly lightfast colours with unique colour tones ranging from full strength colours to the palest tints.
Pastels are usually all about getting your hands dirty but not with Derwent Pastel Pencils. The wide colour strip is powdery and soft so mixing and blending is really easy and because it is encased in wood you get the pastel effect without the mess. 72 vibrant colours Naturally water-soluble Round 8mm barrel Wide 4mm core Soft, wide pastel strip which is partially water-soluble for expressive painting effects. Smooth round barrel made from California incense cedar wood. Barrel stained in a rich natural rosewood. Round 8.0mm diameter barrel gives maximum control and ease of use. Extra wide soft 4.0mm pastel strip provides flexibility of broad and fine strokes. Soft, powdery texture with velvety smooth finish delivers a top quality traditional pastel. Available in 72 pure highly lightfast colours with unique colour tones ranging from full strength colours to the palest tints.
Pastels are usually all about getting your hands dirty but not with Derwent Pastel Pencils. The wide colour strip is powdery and soft so mixing and blending is really easy and because it is encased in wood you get the pastel effect without the mess. 72 vibrant colours Naturally water-soluble Round 8mm barrel Wide 4mm core Soft, wide pastel strip which is partially water-soluble for expressive painting effects. Smooth round barrel made from California incense cedar wood. Barrel stained in a rich natural rosewood. Round 8.0mm diameter barrel gives maximum control and ease of use. Extra wide soft 4.0mm pastel strip provides flexibility of broad and fine strokes. Soft, powdery texture with velvety smooth finish delivers a top quality traditional pastel. Available in 72 pure highly lightfast colours with unique colour tones ranging from full strength colours to the palest tints.
Pastels are usually all about getting your hands dirty but not with Derwent Pastel Pencils. The wide colour strip is powdery and soft so mixing and blending is really easy and because it is encased in wood you get the pastel effect without the mess. 72 vibrant colours Naturally water-soluble Round 8mm barrel Wide 4mm core Soft, wide pastel strip which is partially water-soluble for expressive painting effects. Smooth round barrel made from California incense cedar wood. Barrel stained in a rich natural rosewood. Round 8.0mm diameter barrel gives maximum control and ease of use. Extra wide soft 4.0mm pastel strip provides flexibility of broad and fine strokes. Soft, powdery texture with velvety smooth finish delivers a top quality traditional pastel. Available in 72 pure highly lightfast colours with unique colour tones ranging from full strength colours to the palest tints.
in 3 offers
The lowest price for Derwent Pastel Pencil (Burnt Umber P540) right now is $3.57 at cultpens.com, compared across 3 retailers.
The all-time low was $3.03 on 22 Jan 2026 — today's price is 18% above the lowest ever. That's a little above the best price we've seen.
Prices last updated 14 May 2026.
Last updated at 14/05/2026 22:18:57
Derwent Pastel Pencil - 540 - Brunt Umber
Delivery $25
Derwent : Pastel Pencil : Burnt Umber
Delivery between Fri – Mon $9.70
Derwent Pastel Pencil P540 Burnt Umber
Delivery $9.90
originally posted on dickblick.com
All the Derwent Pastel Pencils work brilliantly. They are high quality and make a difference in the finished work. They work very well on textured pastel paper like PastelMat or Sennellier La Carte.
originally posted on dickblick.com
I don't usually use pastels, but thought I'd try pastel pencils. I bought a few different single pencils of different brands to compare and make a decision. I ended up buying the Derwent pastel pencils 72 count, because I liked the quality for the price. I would highly recommend these pencils. They blend very nicely and the colors are soft and natural.The only con would be the flimsy plastic tray that holds the pencils. The metal tin case is adequate but the plastic tray is very thin and floppy when you try to move the trays.
originally posted on dickblick.com
I bought these pencils for my daughter as a Christmas gift. She was very happy to get them as she loves all merchandise from Blick. The order process was very easy and the items were delivered in the time promised. I will order from Blick again and I hope I get entered into the #sweepstakes.
| Country of Manufacture | United Kingdom |
| To use with | Pastel, Pencil & Drawing |
Derwent Pastel Pencil - 540 - Brunt Umber
Delivery $25
Derwent : Pastel Pencil : Burnt Umber
Delivery between Fri – Mon $9.70
Derwent Pastel Pencil P540 Burnt Umber
Delivery $9.90
All the Derwent Pastel Pencils work brilliantly. They are high quality and make a difference in the finished work. They work very well on textured pastel paper like PastelMat or Sennellier La Carte.
I don't usually use pastels, but thought I'd try pastel pencils. I bought a few different single pencils of different brands to compare and make a decision. I ended up buying the Derwent pastel pencils 72 count, because I liked the quality for the price. I would highly recommend these pencils. They blend very nicely and the colors are soft and natural.The only con would be the flimsy plastic tray that holds the pencils. The metal tin case is adequate but the plastic tray is very thin and floppy when you try to move the trays.
I bought these pencils for my daughter as a Christmas gift. She was very happy to get them as she loves all merchandise from Blick. The order process was very easy and the items were delivered in the time promised. I will order from Blick again and I hope I get entered into the #sweepstakes.
I've been using Derwent pastel pencils for a number of years now. Block pastels are wonderful for large areas, however when it come to smaller, detailed areas in my work, I found these work the best! They blend into a wonderful fade effect or cloud-like haziness depending on how long you work the color along or use an alcohol wash with them for a more painted look. These sharpen nicely with a good Derwent pencil sharpener or a sandpaper pencil sharpener pointer, or a box cutter handled very carefully. You can't go wrong with these and it's wonderfully to be able to purchase open-stock pastel pencils because I tend to use certain colors more so then others.
I got another color to try besides white a purple gray. Love the color, feel in my hand. Got for animal drawings. Their white is a really strong white. When I couldn't get the white Carbothello or Pitt pastel pencils to make a mark over several layers of pastel the Derwent white came to the rescue. Right now they have a good price for the whole 72 set and I can't decide to get this one or the carbothello's everyone seems to be using probably get both in long run still new to pastels.
I have a basic set of Koh-i-Noor pastel pencils which I really like. But I needed more greens and landscape colors than that set provided so I bought several individual Derwents. These proved to be an excellent match. They're soft (not scratchy) and hard to distinguish from the Koh-i-Noors. Worked out really well.
I bought the black and white of all the major pastel pencil brands to try them out, and this pencil was my last choice. It has a somewhat soft lead. I had major issues with breakage, both with the pencil lead breaking and the wood splitting. It's the least opaque pencil I tested and seems to contain the least pigment. It blends reasonably well. It produces an average amount of dust. Due to issues with the lead breaking repeatedly, both in use and during sharpening, I decided pastel pencils aren't for me, despite their many wonderful qualities. I wanted to like this one because the color range is great, and they have solid lightfastness ratings.
Many artists love this brand of pastel pencil. I ordered only one pencil, because I already have so many other brands and sets. I have tried using it in conjunction with the others I have. It is passable, but I will say that the pencil is so soft-that it crumbles in the sharpener and is very hard to deal with. I will not be purchasing the set of these...I much prefer the others I have, mainly the Carb-Othellos, and the Faber Castell Pitt Pastel pencils. However let me say this- I know there are going to be people who love this brand, and that is fine...they are decent quality, and when I can keep the point from breaking, the colour does lay down smooth. It is sometimes just a matter of personal preference, thats all.
I am very picky about the medium I use to create art and will try multiple brands to find one that is just right. When it comes to pastel pencils Derwent is my favorite.I have tried Conte, Fabre Castell Pitt, Bruynzeel and Stabilo CarbOthello pastel pencils. They are all very nice, but not quite suited to my preferences. The Pitt, Bruynzeel and Stabilo pencils are lovely pencils with their velvety soft characteristics, but I find them too soft and smudgy when creating fine detail for portraits. Contes are nice for crosshatch type of style, but they are too bit hard and scratchy for my taste.Derwent pastel pencils are the perfect balance of soft and hardness for detailed work. If you are delicate with your touch, you can smudge out any lines creating a nice soft ... MoreI am very picky about the medium I use to create art and will try multiple brands to find one that is just right. When it comes to pastel pencils Derwent is my favorite.I have tried Conte, Fabre Castell Pitt, Bruynzeel and Stabilo CarbOthello pastel pencils. They are all very nice, but not quite suited to my preferences. The Pitt, Bruynzeel and Stabilo pencils are lovely pencils with their velvety soft characteristics, but I find them too soft and smudgy when creating fine detail for portraits. Contes are nice for crosshatch type of style, but they are too bit hard and scratchy for my taste.Derwent pastel pencils are the perfect balance of soft and hardness for detailed work. If you are delicate with your touch, you can smudge out any lines creating a nice soft even tone, but they also give you a nice clean edge that doesn't bleed. Like any pastel, some colors are softer and break more easily. Surprisingly, colors like Sepia can be sharpened to a fine point in a hand crank sharpener without breaking. While others like terracotta break with the slightest of twist in any sharpener and must be hand carved or sanded. They also offer a nice selection of colors, I use them for monotone drawings so I haven't tried them all, but the ones I have tried have a very nice tone with the exception of the Dark Sanguine. It has a maroonish tone instead of a dark orangish-red which is a real disappointment since that is my favorite color. Out of all the pencils I have tried, Conte offers the perfect Sanguine tone.Dear Derwent pencil makers...a little tweaking of the Dark Sanguine pencils for us who like to replicate the old masters would be much appreciated. It should be a deep rust, not maroon. Also, please print the SKU# on the pencil like the other brands so that you don't have to put a sticker on the pencil, of all places near the tip, it leaves a gummy mess.
Sampled a variety of pastel pencils recently, and tried them all side by side (Conte, Cretacolor, Caran d'ache, Faber Castell, Stabilo, Derwent), blending each together with charcoal and white pastel on the same brand/tooth of art paper for careful comparison.The Derwent blue I sampled was ... eh, okay. It is third from left in the picture. Saturation seemed a notch lesser than competing brands, and the application/texture was very much at the "hard/sandy" end of the spectrum. It blended reasonably well with some patience and was usable, but instinctively it had a cheapest feel and least richness of any brand I tried. I selected another brand to purchase a full set from, but I would actually take Derwents over the highly priced Caran d'ache, because they are at ... MoreSampled a variety of pastel pencils recently, and tried them all side by side (Conte, Cretacolor, Caran d'ache, Faber Castell, Stabilo, Derwent), blending each together with charcoal and white pastel on the same brand/tooth of art paper for careful comparison.The Derwent blue I sampled was ... eh, okay. It is third from left in the picture. Saturation seemed a notch lesser than competing brands, and the application/texture was very much at the "hard/sandy" end of the spectrum. It blended reasonably well with some patience and was usable, but instinctively it had a cheapest feel and least richness of any brand I tried. I selected another brand to purchase a full set from, but I would actually take Derwents over the highly priced Caran d'ache, because they are at least a relatively charcoal/pastel-like consistency, allowing general blendability with other brands and with black/white charcoal pencil. Caran d'Ache are basically oil pastels, from what I sampled, which are lovely, but which do not blend well with other pastel pencils or black/white charcoal.
| Country of Manufacture | United Kingdom |
| To use with | Pastel, Pencil & Drawing |
