Heather Irvine
This section has a brief introduction to oil pastels and their application.
This section has a brief introduction to oil pastels and their application.
Oil pastels are somewhat the 'forgotten' medium of many artists. For me, I think this stems from childhood dabbles in art at school using the cheaper brand wax crayons which are not only horrid to use, but leave budding young artists feeling they will never be able to conquer such a medium without it turning out seemingly bright, ghastly and childlike! The truth could not be more to the contrary.....
Modern oil pastels are made from pure pigment and are blended with a non drying wax binder into a stick form. There are quite broad differences in quality in today's pastels even still and I would urge anyone seriously considering using them to buy a good quality brand such as Van Gogh and Sennelier. the latter is simply the best colourfast wise - they are soft, easily plyable and give fantastic coverage.
Oil Pastels have the feel and look of normal oils, but can be applied to many surfaces, including wood, glass and mesonite board. Most artists, like myself, use them on paper, my preference is for Canson, although they will sit on almost all papers quite happily, but the surface 'tooth' will affect how your pastels will look. For example, a hot pressed paper with little tooth will mean the pastel 'skates' and sits on the surface, whereas a paper such as Canson with a slight roughness to it will allow for far more rigourous blending and bonding with the paper. I find, the more you can 'base' your paper (ie rubbing a thin undercoat into it) the better the pastels sit, but I have also produced many works where the paper tooth helps one layered impasto pieces also! They can be used with solvents for a wash effect, which means they can be applied to canvas or used in conjuction with normail oils. The best technique however, is getting in there with your own unique tool - your hands and fingers - and blending. You will be amazed at what little subtle force is required to make the most delicate mark. It literally is pushing paint around and you can control the depth, tone, value and colour with one stroke. Many people struggle with applying white lights' onto already bright colours, for instance when painting eyes and depicting the reflection of the light source. Oil pastels never dry, but if you leave them overnight, the surface becomes stable enough to then work over the following day.
Oil pastels do challenge you, they do take practise to get used to and can be infuriating at times. But - they can also produce some of the most amazing effects and be painterly above (and often beyond) normal oils.
Modern oil pastels are made from pure pigment and are blended with a non drying wax binder into a stick form. There are quite broad differences in quality in today's pastels even still and I would urge anyone seriously considering using them to buy a good quality brand such as Van Gogh and Sennelier. the latter is simply the best colourfast wise - they are soft, easily plyable and give fantastic coverage.
Oil Pastels have the feel and look of normal oils, but can be applied to many surfaces, including wood, glass and mesonite board. Most artists, like myself, use them on paper, my preference is for Canson, although they will sit on almost all papers quite happily, but the surface 'tooth' will affect how your pastels will look. For example, a hot pressed paper with little tooth will mean the pastel 'skates' and sits on the surface, whereas a paper such as Canson with a slight roughness to it will allow for far more rigourous blending and bonding with the paper. I find, the more you can 'base' your paper (ie rubbing a thin undercoat into it) the better the pastels sit, but I have also produced many works where the paper tooth helps one layered impasto pieces also! They can be used with solvents for a wash effect, which means they can be applied to canvas or used in conjuction with normail oils. The best technique however, is getting in there with your own unique tool - your hands and fingers - and blending. You will be amazed at what little subtle force is required to make the most delicate mark. It literally is pushing paint around and you can control the depth, tone, value and colour with one stroke. Many people struggle with applying white lights' onto already bright colours, for instance when painting eyes and depicting the reflection of the light source. Oil pastels never dry, but if you leave them overnight, the surface becomes stable enough to then work over the following day.
Oil pastels do challenge you, they do take practise to get used to and can be infuriating at times. But - they can also produce some of the most amazing effects and be painterly above (and often beyond) normal oils.
