Oil Pastel Technique For Painting Fur

My name is Mona Majorowicz. I am a professional artist who has been making my living selling my work for some time now. I have been in the art and framing industry for over 20 years. I am an animal artist, (meaning I paint critters) who works primarily in Oil Pastel or Water Soluble Pencil.

Currently, I own and operate Wild Faces Gallery with my husband Mike, in a small rural town in Iowa. There we sell my original artwork and prints as well as do quality custom framing and offer Giclee printing for other artists.

I maintain a blog about art and the creative experience called Fur In The Paint, as well as write a regular column for the an equestrian magazine Apples 'N Oats about painting horses.

Animals are my passion and art is how I choose to express it.

All copyrights are retained by the artist,
Mona Majorowicz of Wild Faces Gallery.

The artwork or content in this lens may not be used or reproduced, either
in part or in whole, without the express written consent from the artist.

To begin with, I need to have a fairly comprehensive drawing. Oil pastels stain my substrate (which in this case is 100% cotton rag museum board) so I need to have a good idea of what I am placing where, to avoid complications from having the wrong color in the wrong place. It is possible to scrape off a certain amount of color, but in general it wouldn't work to have too great a color shift. The underlying stain would show through any similar value color as well as anything lighter, placed over the top.

Also, I don't use turpenoids for blending. You get can get some great effects with turps. Like subtle blending or for painting with a brush. However, I love the mark making that using the straight oil pastel gives. I rely on laying color next to color to achieve my goals. Nearly all of my blending is done with the pastels themselves.

The first thing I do is lay in my darks, generally in the shadowy areas. In this case, black and darkest grays. Though it has a random scribbly look to it. I lay my lines in the direction that the horse's hair coat runs.

Next I add the mid-tone ranges of grays. I also add the periwinkle and ginger colors now. (one of my favorite color combinations) In this applications the gingers add warmth and the periwinkle provides pop.

And the final step is where I put in the lightest grays, creams and sparingly white. White, much like black, when used in excess can make a painting look flat and lifeless. However when used properly, you can achieve great contrast and highlights. Some blending and overlay is good. Too much though and you'll have mud.

I'm a sectional artist, meaning I work in one area at a time and when finished I move onto the next.

This works particularly well with oil pastels because it allows me to rest my hand on the painting without transferring color or smudging.

Here is another draft horse painting of mine, as a work in progress. I have often found a wealth of information in how to work a medium by looking at WIPs (works in progress.) So I've included this one because you can see all the various stages at one time.

I used very short strokes to mimic the close cut coat of giraffe hair.

This probably seems pretty obvious but
Stroke length kinda goes like this:

*very short strokes for very short hair
*short to medium strokes for slightly longer hair
*long strokes for long hair or to create movement.

About Various Oil Pastel Brands

I thought first I should discuss the importance of various oil pastels brands in regards to achieving a desired look. The Brand of oil pastel that you use can greatly affect the way in which the pastel performs for a certain function.

For instance when creating the more expressionistic look of hair I need a mid range firmness pastel like Caran D'Ache. They are soft enough that they create larger strokes of color for mark making while still being firm enough to cut through the pastel layers already in place. In the end I usually use the first 3 brands of OPs listed below, per painting. It's the knowing when to use which that is helpful.

Whenever someone tells me that they bought a set of oil pastels, but they just couldn't make them work. I usually suggest they try a few other sets because each brand of oil pastels has some unique properties which make them good for some applications but not necessarily good for others.

Most oil pastels vary in coverage and texture. Some are very firm while others are buttery soft. Experiment with a few different types when trying to determine whether oil pastels are a medium for you. All the brands I use are professional grade.

Holbein My favorite brand. They are quite firm which means I can usually get a finer line. They have great coverage and color and are wonderful for mark making. They also have an extensive color range. At one time 225 colors but they have recently cut their line down to 125.

Caran d' Ache - This was the first brand I tried and I enjoyed them so much they are the reason I now work in oil pastel. They are slightly softer (which means they lay down a large swath of color) .than the Holbeins and they have a more limited color range.

Sennelier - Excellent quality oil pastel with very dense pigment. However they are buttery soft. Because of this I am not a huge fan. However their colors are sumptuous and rich. I do use Senneliers but tend to mix them when working. Using them primarily as a colorant. I think these would be very good when used in a different way than my own.

Sakura Specialist They are created by Cray-Pas. These are seriously hard and their coverage is a little weak. When I first tried them I was disappointed but I have played with them some since and I've learned to use them in combination with the others effectively. Not my favorite, but I imagine that is more about how I prefer to work than a reflection of the pastels.

More Information About Oil Pastels

Art Materials, Techniques and Supplies
How To Paint Fur In Watercolor Pencil
Learn About Watercolor Pencils
Using Watercolor Pencils on Suede Board
Inktense: Water Soluble Ink Pencils
Neocolor ll Water Soluble Wax Pastels
Oil Pastel Technique
Oil Pastels: Some Basic Information
Tips and Tools for working with Oil Pastels
3 Ways To Frame An Oil Pastel Painting

Art Business & Art Marketing
How To Know If You're Ready To Make Prints Of Your Art
Artwork Framing Guide
How To Care For Your Artwork and Prints
Creating A Collaborative Economy For Artists
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Wild Faces Gallery Art Lensography
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The Horse Paintings Of Wild Faces Gallery
The African Wildlife Art of Wild Faces Gallery
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The Draft Horse Art Of Wild Faces Gallery

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