Oil Pastels CPD

How to use Oil Pastels

What are Oil Pastels?

• As a novice artist picking up oil pastels for the first time – don’t be afraid. These versatile crayons are made up of a soft, oily composition that makes them the perfect tool for blending. Made from a recipe of pigment with a non-drying oil and wax binder, oil pastels pair perfectly with canvas, paper, wood and even glass!
• By using oil pastels, you can unleash your imagination and let your creative boundaries open wide by picking up new skills and learning fresh ways to use this diverse medium. Oil pastels are a fun and exciting choice for all beginners that will uplift your inspiration and send you on your way to become a great artist.
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Ideas for Oil Pastels

• As you begin to learn about oil pastels and how to use them it is advisable to start out with subjects that won’t be too complicated. Still life is a great way for beginners to ease themselves into the use of oil pastels. A juicy red apple or a beautiful flower, find some good lighting and begin your first oil pastel masterpiece.
• When it comes to choosing your surface for your first-time oil pastel piece, opting for paper is a great choice as it is simple and excellent for oil pastels to adhere to and is easily replaced if and when mistakes are made.

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Oil Pastel Techniques

• Now you have picked the perfect subject and surface, it’s time to master some techniques. You may find it easier to sketch your project with a pencil first then fill it in with your oil pastels. The pencil will rub easily so you don’t need to worry about leftover outlines.
• The beauty of oil pastels is its ability to blend magnificently which can be achieved through heavy pressure blending and light pressure blending. Blending is a great oil pastel technique for beginners to ease yourself into becoming the next Van Gogh. With heavy pressure blending, you simply add your colour of choice onto your paper followed by adding layers of different colours on top. This creates a striking, bold and textured effect With light pressure blending, the action is the same but with less pressure to achieve a delightful medley of shades and tones.

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Oil Pastel Techniques continued

• Colour mixing is another great skill to pick up. Apply a generous layer of oil pastel colour then add a different colour on top. Continue to layer and blend until you achieve your desired look. When blending and mixing don’t be afraid to dive into the deep end – your fingers are your brushes and you can blend and mix to create magic on the page. Be mindful not to brush off any dusty pigment on the page as this could cause smudging on your beautiful piece. Carefully lift the paper and tap to allow the excess pigment to fall off.

Blending Technique

•  Here are some basic principles you should follow when blending oil pastels.
• 1. Apply pastels with consistent pressure
• You should apply the same amount of pressure when you’re working with oil pastels to make sure the thickness of the paint on the canvas/parer is consistent. If you apply uneven pressure, this will leave blank, white spots where you used less pressure. This will be a problem when you try to blend the colours later on.

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Blending Technique continued

1. Pastels applied with consistent pressure look much more vibrant, the colours show up wonderfully on the canvas/paper. Try to go over the spots where the paper or canvas is still showing, and cover it with colour.

2. Put colours close together

If you are trying to create an ombre effect, put colours close together. They can even overlap a bit. This will make the colours easier to blend and there will a smoother transition between colours. Don’t worry about the colours looking weird because you can fix this once you start blending.

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How to Blend Oil Pastels with Fingers�

• 1. Make sure your fingers are dry
• To successfully blend oil pastels with your fingers, make sure they are completely dry. Our fingers are actually quite oily, and this can mess up the colours of the pastels. Wet fingers will also affect the paper or canvas quality.
• If you want a good colour, don’t use the same finger for multiple colours. This will alter the colours once you apply them to your canvas/paper. You could also keep wet wipes or hand sanitizer nearby so you can clean your fingers when switching between colours.

How to Blend with a Knife�

• Painting knives are extremely useful if you’d like to blend the colours first before applying them to the canvas. Pre-blending will help you avoid mixing the wrong colours and making other mistakes.

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How to Blend with a Knife continued

• 1. Cut off pieces of oil pastels
• The first step is to slice off small pieces of the colours you want to use. You can even blend more than two colours at a time if you’d like. Once you’ve cut the pieces, place them on your painting palette or any other surface you can use to blend the paint.
• 2. Crush the pastel pieces with your knife
• Next, using the palette knife, crush the pieces of oil pastels until they turn into soft, thick paint.
• 3. Mix the colours together
• You can now mix them together! Either blend them to get a nice ombre transition or mix them up to make new colours. You can either use the knife or your fingers to do this.

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How to Blend with Baby Oil�

• Baby oil is a surprisingly great colour enhancer. You can add some to your oil pastel paintings to make them look brighter and smoother. This technique is called oil blending.
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How to Blend with Baby Oil continued

• 1. Add a few drops onto the canvas
• Put a few drops of baby oil onto your work canvas. Try to avoid pouring in too much, and only drop oil on the areas you want to blend.
• 2. Use a cotton ball to blend
• Take a clean cotton ball and gently dab on the places you dropped baby oil on.

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How to Blend With the Stippling and Scumbling Method�

• Stippling
• The stippling method is one of the simplest blending techniques out there. With this technique, you use small dots to create patterns and images.
• Use a stippling brush or regular pastel stick
• There are paintbrushes made specifically with the stippling method in mind. They are usually fluffy and have blunt bristles. The end of the brush is completely flat so you can make dots, but I prefer to use the stick itself.
• Apply small strokes
• Use small strokes to make sure you’re getting the stippling effect. The strokes should be choppy and uneven. People also usually use quick strokes to create additional colour depth.

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Scumbling�

• This blending technique it is excellent for adding depth and texture to oil pastel paintings. You can also do this to make a “broken colour” effect.
• These methods seem to be extremely time-consuming to work with your oil pastels. I have seen large pieces of work done using these methods and they look outstanding, because they have a very unique textured effect, so it could be worth your time if you can conjure that much enthusiasm to do an entire painting just by applying little dots.

Stippling and Scumbling

How to Blend Oil Pastels With the Cross-Hatch Method�

• Heavy pressure blending is one of the most common blending techniques. The cross-hatch method is used to blend overlapping lines that are pointing in different directions. Here’s how you can apply this method to your work:
• 1. Choose the colours you want to blend
• First, choose which two colours you want to blend. It’s better if you choose a light and dark shade that complement each other.
• 2. Pick the directions of the lines
• With the cross-hatch method, you’ll be making strokes in two different directions. Determine whether you want to make the lines parallel to, perpendicular to, or crossing one another in the shape of an X. Also, choose which colour goes in which direction.
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How to Blend Oil Pastels With the Cross-Hatch Method continued

• 3. Draw a series of strokes
• After you’ve assigned a colour to a direction, draw multiple lines for each. You should do this until you have a rich block of colour on your paper or canvas.
• 4. Blend the lines together
• Once you’re done drawing a series of lines, it’s time to blend! You can either continue filling in the block with more cross-hatch strokes. Another option would be to combine this with other blending techniques, such as oil blending. Choose a technique that will result in your desired effect.

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