8 Reasons To Create Art With Oil Pastels

In case you have noticed, there has not been a whole lot of actual “crafting” going on around here, but that is not to say there is no creativity, on the contrary! I’ve been working on my art journey, which at the moment entails a serious commitment to creating 100 5″ x 7″ oil pastel paintings, hopefully sooner than later. (I’m now up to #41, follow me here on Instagram to see the progess!) Yes, I am drawing with the pastels, but when you cover the whole page with them it is called a painting, so I’m painting folks, except it involves drawing and lots of smushing and scraping off the accidents, and layering, and basically lots of mess too…..however, the medium of oil pastels has a lot going for it! Why you may ask? Well, I do not have any formal training in art, and while I had started painting and drawing here and there, and had a few pockets of serious painting say two years ago, I really didn’t become consistent with a creative practice/art journey until, drum roll…Covid. The silver lining is that the making of art has become a part of my life, something I’ve been dreaming of for years. Yes, that and some other things as well, but one thing at a time! Okay, lets keep talking about creating with oil pastels…..and please note, not all oil pastels are created equal, and it is crucial that you use the right ones. I’ve put together a nice list called 10 Reasons To Create With Oil Pastels, that also mentions supplies, so keep on reading!

8 Reasons To Create With Oil Pastels!

1. Very Few Supplies Needed

Yup, that is right, just oil pastels and paper basically, plus a pencil and some masking tape, and baby wipes or some way to clean your hands and the pastels themselves. Some q-tips for blending might be nice and I use a skewer for making marks. Which oil pastels are the best? While this might be somewhat personal, I am following the advice of Kellee Wynne who talks about this on her Instagram stories @kelleewynnestudios, (if you go there please follow me too @sara.rivka.dahan) and she recommends Mungyo Gallery for the budget friendly version, and Caran D’Ache Neopastel (be careful they have a few kinds, you want non-water soluble oil pastels) together with Sennelier oil pastel in white, which is used for blending. The Sennelier oil pastels are very very soft, and so Kellee and others whom I’ve asked prefer the Caran D’Ache. That said, I bought 2 sets of the Mungyo, and 2 huge white Sennelier oil pastels, so I’m all set for now. Plus there is a huge difference in price, but if you are serious about oil pastel, and plan to stick with it, I’d say splurge and get the Caran D’Ache. Personally I’m using the oil pastel medium as a way of working on composition and color, and then plan on changing mediums as I go up to a much larger size. (Hopefully!)

What about fixative you ask? Sennelier now makes an aerosol fixative that works, more or less, or at least better apparently than anything else, but it is toxic. A virtual friend of mine who sells her oil pastel work on Etsy says she uses the Sennelier, several coats. Sennelier also makes a liquid sealer that I just bought, so can’t give any advice on that just yet!

2. You Can Apply Intense Color To Paper Quickly, On Any Paper, You Know, Quick Sketches!

Dreaming of striped of pink, or something pink on a sea of peach, or want to color in that little orange drawing you made? Get out the pastels and color away without worrying about bleeding through the paper, as you would with markers, sigh. Pastels look amazing when used to loosely color in a pen and ink drawing and can even look like a really artful painting. It is true the pastels don’t dry, so that is a bit tricky, but worth the hassle of having to cover them with a litte piece of parchment paper, or create on every other page in your journal.

3. You Can Layer Color With No Drying Time

Yes, you can layer color, of course not forever as it becomes impossible, but a few good layers are possible, depending on the colors. I often just scrape off whatever isn’t working in order to add more in that spot. The ability to layer is something that becomes very impossible with cheap pastels!

4. You Can Blend Color Easily

Blending is one of the things folks love about oil pastel. Blend with your finger, a q-tip or a silicone tool, or use another pastel to blend, that is what I do with white and creme over darker colors. Whether you are blending to make new colors or to add a blurry/etherial look to your piece give it a try.

5. You Can Work On Ideas For Larger Paintings

Oil pastels are ideal for making quick color and composition sketches, and for hashing out ideas you want to use for a larger painting.

6. They Are Very Portable For Art On The Go

Yippee, art supplies that you can take on the plane or in the car with no worries about spilling! You may want to combine them with pen and pencil drawings, those don’t spill either, so why not fill up a journal with oil pastel works, just remember to put pieces of paper over each one, or work on every other page. Once back home you could opt to seal them.

7. You Can Create Pieces The Look Artful Without Really Meaning To

Want to loosen up? With oil pastels it is difficult to get really really tiny details as the tip is quite large, and trust me, the end results look artful, like you meant them to be!

8. They Can Be Used In Mixed Media, In The Last Layer For Art Making

Love colorful or abstract marks in paintings? You can do just that with oil pastel over any other medium, just make sure to do it last. And either seal the work or make sure it is displayed behind glass so no one can smudge it! Over time, meaning years it will dry, mostly especially if we talking about some mark making.

Okay friends, hope this has been helpful, please excuse me, I have 59 more 5″ x 7″ oil pastel pieces to create and hoping to do that by the end of May. Wouldn’t that be amazing?