Part 3: Oil Pastels – Tools, Tips and Advice
Tools:
Blending, lifting, scraping, smudging colors is how we roll so here is a comprehensive list of things that I use. I thought to share this because I would like to mention not just the “what” (oil pastels and paper) but the “how” (tools). If you do not have all of these items, it is not a train smash, keep experimenting and build up your tools as you go or you might even find that you already have some of these items already. Ok, lets dive in!
Blending Tools:
Your fingers, best way to blend. (Ps: if you do use your fingers as “brushes”, please make sure to take care of your “brushes” by moisturizing them.
Cosmetic cotton buds, the pointed tip is useful for small areas.
Blending stumps, use slanted side for larger areas or solid backgrounds, point useful for small areas.
Latex makeup sponge/wedge also for smoothing large similar color areas or for lifting a solid color if tooth of paper is saturated.
OMS (Odorless Mineral Spirits or Turpentine)
Brushes (cheaper ones) for OMS
Erase, Scrape, Indent Tools:
Kneadable eraser, a true hero! Essential, for erasing entire parts that one may be unhappy about, and to pick up stray pastel specks that mysteriously find themselves where you don’t want them, like a dark speck on a light area.
Scraping tool to scrape off lines and reveal under color or create texture like grass.
One can use a pallet knife, scrape the pastel off the stick and paste it on desired area.
White and black highlights:
White Gelly roll pen, thick #10
Black Cretacolor Nero Extrasoft Pencil
Masking Tools:
Glassine/Crystal paper. This one is another her! Use to keep work clean by preventing smudging, and to store away or to ship out.
Masking tape or pretty washi tape to create a boarder for the art. It is so, satisfying to peel off when done, and reveal that white boarder of the page. A good idea to have large boarders as it helps with framing.
Also used to reserve white areas.
Cleaning Tools:
Tissue paper to clean off your pastels so that you do not transfer or contaminate colors laid down.
Wet wipes, yes it works amazing to clean fingers and other tools.
A Drawing Board (I am using a large Monte Marte Table Easel)
Tips:
Smudging is problematic but comes with the territory. Ways to work around that is to work your piece from top to down or left to right (if right-handed). To use masking methods like masking a sheet of paper or glassine (Clairfontaine Crystal Paper sheets) on parts that you will get to later to keep it clean.
When packing a piece away or in between art sessions, place a sheet of glassine over and in a flat art folder like the Clairfontaine one with elastic straps.
Use pieces of glassine sheets while working, mask down under palm.
Work light to dark colors as it is harder to lay light colors over dark.
Blend from light to dark.
Blending can be achieved using circular motion or linear.
Cut a small piece of masking tape and stick to reserve spots that need to remain white, or apply white oil pastel and scrape off any color that lands over an area that needs to remain white, or use a thick white Gelly roll pen.
Don’t be afraid to cut or break the oil pastel, as it is great to use on its side for large coverage, and gives a sharp edge to be used for precise lines. It took me a year to come around to breaking a pastel and wish that I had did sooner.
Work large! Many wonder how to achieve details with fat sticks of crayon looking things. The larger you work, the more opportunity there is to articulate details.
Swatch the colors that you want to use on a piece of the same type of paper that you are creating your art on to make sure that you are happy with your selection and practice blending.
If you can’t find a lighter tone of the color you need, lay the closest to the color you have and lay a cream or white to desaturate it, likewise if you can’t find a dark enough tone, lay a blue, or black to make it darker.
Keep your fingers clean as well as the pastel stick whilst working a piece so as to not color contaminate.
Landscapes, nature scenes and abstract are best to start off with to practice as it does not demand perfection.
Add pops of white, or highlights the next day. The next days new layer on previous day layer may be erased off with blending with a cotton bud so plan your stop points for the day by planning how to attack a piece.
Do not practice with different pastels or papers as a way to save on materials. Practice with the pastels and paper that you intend on using, makes the learning curve happen faster. Think of it as a self-investment, a course you put yourself through.
Sometimes when working on a piece and find that you can’t add more layers or get another stroke to stick, give it a few minutes or an hour and try again.
Advice:
I got to this level in just over a year, from first watching loads of YouTube tutorials, I started watching what I felt were beginner friendly and it made it approachable. Once I felt comfortable, I looked for higher level tutorials and gave that a go, and eventually the highest level and then found my own methods and style. Remember that in early stages there will be some frustration and failures but it is a package deal as you enter into a learning curve. The more that you practice and refine your method, style, genre and application, the more you start to like the outcomes.
Once you get the hang of it, you start experiencing those proud feelings of accomplishment, and that in itself is addictive as churning out new art pieces that you love! It is worth persevering even in the discomfort of frustration. It is worth pondering on how to achieve what you want to, instead of trying the same things over and over and saying that it just won’t work. The pictures of my art should speak for themselves in letting you know that what some may say is not possible, is possible if you want it to be.
I have hit many brick walls, spent my supplies on experiments, adjusted and readjusted how I do things (always), as I want to break boundaries to draw attention to the medium and revive the excitement of people deciding to use it. So, I hope that you give it a shot and give oil pastels the respect that it deserves as it is truly an amazing medium that I believe I have only just begun exploring!
Happy journeying from beginner to Mastery…
Happy Creating Friends!
Artsy Regards
Sarika Purchase
