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Oil Pastels: Some Basic Information

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Some General Information About Oil Pastels

I am an oil pastel artist and have been working with this medium for several years. I particularly enjoy the speed with which you can lay down color. My previous medium (watercolor pencils) was mind numbingly slow, though the realistic effects it achieved were worth every minute.

However, once I discovered Oil Pastels it was like freedom. A world of possibilities had opened up. My color usage has expanded and my art tends to have developed some impressionistic tendencies with this medium. And while I still occasionally do a painting using watercolor pencils, oil pastels paintings are now my primary way to create art.

Topics Covered On This Page
* The History Of Oil Pastels
* What Are Oil Pastels
* Surfaces For Working With Oil Pastels
* Various Brands Of Oil Pastels
* Using Turpenoids With Oil Pastels
* Framing Oil Pastel Art

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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.

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Oil Pastel Basic Information Table Of Contents

A Brief History About Oil Pastels
What Are Oil Pastels?
What Are Some Good Surfaces To Use With Oil Pastels?
A Few Words About Turpenoids
Protecting the Finished Oil Pastel Artwork
For An In Depth Look At How To Frame Your Oil Pastel Artwork Please Visit This Lens.
The Oil Pastel Brands That I Use
Holbein Oil Pastels
Caran d'Ache Oil Pastels
Sennelier Oil Pastels
Sakura Specialist Oil Pastels
Child Grade Oil Pastels
Cray-Pas And Crayola: Wonderful Oil Pastels For Children
Where I Get My Oil Pastels
Books About Oil Pastels

About The Author Of This Oil Pastel Page

Mona Majorowicz of Wild Faces Galley

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 Apples 'N Oats (an equestrian magazine) about painting horses.

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

About Oil Pastels

A Brief History About Oil Pastels

How Oil pastels Came To Be.

Oil pastels are a relatively new medium. They were originally developed in 1921 and later improved in 1927 at the Sakura Crayon Company. The original product was to be a combination of the crayon and the pastel. Thus the name Cray-Pas was born. Cray-Pas are considered a children's medium as they are made with dyed fillers and have no archival qualities.

In 1949 Henri Sennelier, in collaboration with Pablo Picasso and Henri Goetz, created a new professional grade oil pastel. Picasso is said to have asked for a medium that could work on any surface, such as wood, canvas and metal. Oil pastel offered him the most direct way to work. No brush or instrument interfered between the artist's gestures and the work.

History Reference: www.oilpastelsociety.com

What Are Oil Pastels?

The Various Grades Of Oil Pastels, And What That Means.

Oil pastels are small crayon like sticks. They measure about 3 inches long and 1/4 of an inch thick They can be square or round, and may or may not come wrapped in paper.

There are three grades of oil pastels.
*Children's Grade (Cray-Pas)
*Student Grade (Van Gogh)
*Professional Grade (Holbein, Sennelier)

Professional grade oil pastels consist of a pigment mixed with a non-drying inert oil and wax binder. They are non-yellowing and acid free. Oil pastels can be applied to any surface as they have excellent adhesion. They will never harden, so they will never crack and they maintain archival stability.

Student or Child Grade Are made with dyed fillers and may contain active oils. What this means is they will fade and probably damage the substrate you created your art on.

This seems like a good time to stress the importance of always working with quality materials.

I know sometimes you may just want to try out something and not want to spend the big bucks on professional grade materials. The problem with this is that occasionally you may create a masterpiece which is doomed to destroy itself from materials from which created it.

To prove my point I'll offer up two artists which came to our gallery to have prints made of their artwork because one had created a pastel piece on industrial grade piece of sandpaper. (You know like for sanding down wood) and the other actually used a grocery sack. Both created wonderful art that they knew wouldn't last and so to not the art forever they spent the money to have reproductions made before the work changed.

Items To Use With Oil Pastels

What Are Some Good Surfaces To Use With Oil Pastels?

I Prefer To Use Museum Board Or Watercolor Paper

As previously stated oil pastels were designed to adhere to any surface. That being said some of the more common substrates would be paper products or canvas. Bear in mind, I am talking about paper used with professional grade oil pastels. Lower grade pastels may deteriorate paper because of their active oil content. Active oils will seep through the paper and eventually make it brittle and fall apart.

I tend to prefer working on thicker papers. I feel like they can absorb the oils without becoming too saturated.

My personal working surface preferences are:

Museum Board This is similar to matboard in appearance and texture, but is just a little thicker. Matboard is made up of multiple paper layers glued together. While museum board is 100% cotton fibers. And of course as the name implies, it's archival.

Watercolor Paper I like 140# or heavier. I also prefer the Hot Press Variety because of the smooth surface. But I've some some great effects done on Cold Press or Rough. You can achieve some interesting textures, so do experiment..

Handmade Paper I use my own paper that I created from 100% cotton linters so I know it's archival. Also I can create denser pages when making it myself. Visit my lens on How To Make Handmade Paper to see how that's done.

Do I Need To Prepare The Surface Before I Begin?

According to the Oil Pastel Society: You do not need to prepare the surface as you are using professional grade oil pastels.

With lesser quality pastels it might be a good idea to apply some sort of primer. This usually causes a slick surface which the pastel won't cover and adhere to quite as well. Because of this you may need to lightly sand the surface after priming, to allow for greater adhesion. This is yet another reason to use professional materials. It is a time and money saver in the end.

Hot Press Watercolor Paper

A great surface for oil pastels.

Arches Watercolor Paper - 16 x 20, 3 Sheets, Cold Press, 140 lb

Amazon Price: (as of 06/03/2012)

And A Few Other Paper Surface Options

A Few Words About Turpenoids

This Is The All Natural Turpenoid I Use

While I don't really use them for the oil pastel painting process, many artists do. You can use them to thin the pastels and make it more paint like. About the only times that I do this is for painting whiskers or signing my name. But many artists use turps to give a smoother more oil painting-like finish.

This is actually the brand I use. It works extremely well for the above mentioned applications. But also it's great for cleaning up my tools and often my table and floors. Oil Pastels can get rather messy. Or perhaps it's just me who gets messy.

Could not locate item B000HFAD1Y. Please try again.Sorry, there are no results available from Amazon.

Framing Your Oil Pastel Art

Protecting the Finished Oil Pastel Artwork

Framing Oil Pastel Paintings

Note: In this photo the spacer is shown using black foamcore so you can easier see the various layers needed for framing . For more information regarding framing an oil pastel please visit my lens 3 Ways To Frame An Oil Pastel

Because they never really "dry," they must be handled carefully as they can be damaged. Most artists use 1 of 3 methods to protect their completed works.

Cover with a wax paper. This is a good plan for temporary storage. For anything long term, you should really get them framed.

Frame under glass. (My personal way of going.)You must be sure to provide an air space between the glass and the painting with the use of matting or spacers.

Apply a fixative or varnish. This is somewhat controversial. Sennelier makes an oil pastel fixative spray. But I would recommend only using it with Sennelier oil pastels. Personally, I don't use fixative because Holbein, my main brand, says not too.

For An In Depth Look At How To Frame Your Oil Pastel Artwork Please Visit This Lens.

Various Oil Pastel Brands

The Oil Pastel Brands That I Use

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.

My Favorite Oil Pastel Brands Are:
* Holbein
* Caran d' Ache
* Sennelier

Holbein Oil Pastels

My personal favorite brand of oil pastel.

Holbein Oil Pastels are my favorite brand. They are firm have great coverage and color and are wonderful for mark making. They also have an extensive color range.

My first set was the 225 color set that comes in a wooden box. This set is no longer being made. The maximum color range is now over half that many pastels. However if you look really hard you may still be able to find one of these big sets somewhere.

Holbein Oil Pastel Sets

Holbein Oil Pastel Sets Organized By Size

Caran d'Ache Oil Pastels

A Nice Mid-Range Brand Of Oil Pstels

Caran d' Ache Oil Pastels - This was the first brand I tried and I enjoyed them so much I never looked back. The are slightly softer than the Holbeins with a more limited color range. They are a nice in between texture oil pastel. They fall between the hardness of the Holbeins and the buttery softness of the Sennilier. These are a good all around oil pastel and an excellent set for trying oil pastels.

Caran d'Ache Oil Pastel Sets

Various Caran d'Ache Oil Pastel Sets Organized By Size

Sennelier Oil Pastels

Organized By Size Of Oil Pastel Set

Sennelier Oil Pastels- Excellent quality oil pastel. They have a buttery soft texture. Because of this I am not a huge fan. However their colors are sumptuous and intense. So I do use Senneliers with my Holbeins and Caran d'Ache oil pastels to bump up the color volume. I have an artist friend who loves the soft texture of these oil pastels. She can work them more like she does oil paints because they blend out so smoothly.

Sakura Specialist Oil Pastels

Professional Grade Oil Pastels Made By Cray-Pas

Note: I recently tried Sakura Specialist They are created by Cray-Pas. They 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. I have learned to use them in combination with the others effectively. They are not my favorite brand, but I think that says more about how I prefer to work than a reflection of the pastels. In the end they added a nice new color range to my existing oil pastel sets.

Sakura Cray-Pas Specialist Oil Pastels - Set of 50

Amazon Price: (as of 06/03/2012)

Child And Student Grade Oil Pastels

Child Grade Oil Pastels

My first oil pastel painting. Approximate age 6

While this page was created for the professional artist I thought I'd include a few child grade sets since it was as a small child that I first played with oil pastels. Odd that it took me almost thirty years later to truly fall in love with this versatile medium.

Cray-Pas actually have a really nice texture and coverage. They are available both in small and large sets at an extremely reasonable price. They are the perfect starter set. Bearing in mind that if you are serious about art you will pass this set by for something more archival. I have seen more than one artist create a masterpiece with poor quality materials only to have it deteriorate in a few years and sometimes months.

The Seeds Of Greatness This is actually the first oil pastel painting that I did when I was about 6 years old.

Cray-Pas And Crayola: Wonderful Oil Pastels For Children

Cray-Pas Oil Pastel Sets For Children Or Beginners

A Wonderful Lens About Oil Pastels And Children

What's Your Favorite Brand Of Oil Pastel?

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Where I Get My Oil Pastels

Where To Find Open Stock & Oil Pstel Sets

I usually get whatever open stock (individual pastels) I can at whatever local art supply stores we run across when we are out at an event. Usually Dick Blick. Living in the boonies as we do, this means I can usually only replace the most common brands.

Where To Find Open Stock
www.dickblick.com In most DickBlick stores.

www.dakotapastels.com These guys are great. They carry all the brands in open stock. The only on-line place that I have found so far, that does so.

www.wetpaintart.com Wet Paint is my all time favorite art supply store and whenever I get to St Paul I always try to stop in. They carry a large variety of open stock of everything and this is usually the place where I can buy a couple (of whatever) to try before buying a complete set.

Where To Find Complete Sets

Amazon
www.dickblick.com
www.cheapjoes.com
www.jerrysartarama.com

My Other Oil Pastel & Art Technique & Art Materials Lenses

The Art Materials & Supply Lenses Of Wild Faces Gallery

And Some Art Supplies To Get You Started

Easels, Organizers and Portfolios

Books About Oil Pastels

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