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Using Oil Pastels

If you aren’t already familiar with oil pastels, the difference between them and soft pastels is in the binder. These pastels are made with oil and wax binder rather than one made of gum. This makes them much less powdery than the softer pastels; they have a soft, almost buttery consistency. Non-artists would probably describe them as being soft crayons.

When in use, both types of pastels have a lot of similarities and some differences. Below are some of the key differences.

Before being applied, oil pastels have the advantage in versatility: soft pastels require a surface with considerable tooth (i.e. rough texture that can catch and hold the pigment), but oil pastels don’t. This means they can be used on smooth surfaces that would never be able to hold soft pastel pigment. On the other hand, these pastels are very sensitive to heat due to the oil content, and can melt and deform in your hand during hot weather.

During application, it takes longer to fill an area of the surface with color using oil pastels. This is even more the case if the surface has a lot of tooth. This means that unless the artist is willing to take the time, it may be better to restrict this medium to smaller artworks – say around 11x14”.

When on the surface, they are more difficult to blend than soft pastels, but can be built up impasto-style, and can also be moved around on the surface using a razor blade or palette knife. Try laying down oil pastel and then scratching it with a blade or a pencil; this is particularly good for creating animal fur-type textures. Another technique is to scrape it with the flat blade of a razor, which gives a fuzzy, cloudy effect. You can also use turpentine with oil pastels to create a wash.

When the artwork is finished, they have the advantage of not requiring fixative. This is because they aren’t powdery like soft pastels, so bumping or knocking the surface won’t cause pigment dust to fall off. On the other hand they are prone to smudging, so fixative can still be used if that’s a risk – and if it is used, oil pastels are again on top, because fixative doesn’t dull the painting like it does with soft pastels.

During cleanup, the upside is that they aren't dusty like their soft sister, but the downside is that turpentine is required to clean them off hands and other surfaces. You’ll find that the oil colors get all over everything, and that the sticks themselves get very dirty, but at least you won’t be breathing in pastel dust while you work.

Overall, oil pastels are a younger invention, and they don’t have the mainstream popularity of soft pastels. Using oil pastels will put you in a small (but distinguished!) niche among pastel artists. They were invented to be relatively cheap, easy to use, and colorful, and they certainly succeed on these measures.

About the Author

Emma Ralph is an experienced pastel artist. To discover more about how to paint using oil pastels visit www.paintingwithpastels.com

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