Darla you may be in luck... Blick Studio catalog has a sale on Sennelier pastels. There is a portrait set of 48 colors for $74.98. The item no. is K20036-1109 on page 44 of the Blick Studio Summer Catalog. They have been marked down from a list price of 159.95.
Darla, these are very soft pastels. You may want to start with hard pastels, then work into soft pastels as your portrait develops and there is less tooth to your paper. Some artists start their piece with pastel pencils, then hard pastels, then soft pastels and then softer pastels like Sennelier. You may get some help from the Southeastern Pastel Society that is sitting in your back yard around Atlanta. Contact: Mikki Dillon at
[email protected] or 662 Dorsey Circle, Lilburn, GA 30047-4037.