Art and Design 3200 - Oil Pastels
Oil Pastels are a unique medium and it can take some practice to learn to work with them. Don’t expect greatness right away. It will take practice and patience to master the medium. A few things to keep in mind when it comes to oil pastel:
- They are messy!
Even though oil pastels might be viewed as a drawing type of medium, they are very messy ! One thing you want to have with you when first starting any new oil pastels piece, is paper towels. Paper towels are always by my side when working in oil pastels, because the medium quickly gets on my fingers and sometimes clothing if I’m not being careful. Also, be careful not to shake or sweep oil pastel crumbs onto the floor. We will clean the tables and put crumbs in the garbage at the end of class.
- Keep your Oil Pastels Clean.
In addition to keeping yourself clean, it’s a good idea to keep the oil pastels clean, while working with them.This is especially important when layering and blending with other colors. What happens is, the oil pastel sticks will pick up other colors onto the stick you’re using, and that can be a real problem if you use that stick later but still have a smear of another color adhered to the end of the stick.
- Making mistakes.
Oil pastels can’t really be erased, but they can be scraped off and you just put another layer down in that area. (Again, the quality of oil pastels makes a difference here...we have student quality.)
- Drawing and Blending.
You’ll discover quickly that you can’t really do any fine detail with oil pastels (unless you scrap back into it). And blending your oil pastels will take some practice as it is done using layers rather than a smudging stick or your fingers. Be patient and take your time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ7YYEQfY1o
Select a page in your sketchbook and label and practice the following oil pastel techniques (You can practice with some of the other techniques shown below if you have time):
- Heavy Pressure
- Light Pressure
- Blending (At least 2 colours - remember analogous colours blend the best)
- Stippling
- Scumbling (like scribbles)
- Sgraffito (light colour on bottom and dark on top - do not use black!)
Once you’re done, begin researching oil pastel drawings. You are free to complete any subject matter you like, but please do not just copy from the internet - use these images for inspiration!
Oil Pastel Examples
