Painters Online Logo

Login/register

Studio

Oil Pastels

Welcome to the forum.

Here you can discuss all things art with like-minded artists, join regular painting challenges, ask questions, buy and sell art materials and much more.

Make sure you sign in or register to join the discussions.

Hang on Studio Wall
Showing page 1 of 2
Author
Message
P1080764

Carol .

  • Respected User
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 674
Posted
Its always a good thing, I feel, to try a different medium. So, I got myself a pallet of 72 Haiya oil pastels by Paul Rubens. Very soft and blend well, an oil pastel pad by Sennelier 24x32cm. I use a little Zest-it solvent, vary sparingly, and mainly to clean the brush I use for blending. When using my preferred  medium of watercolour I paint quite tight as I like detail. I'm trying this medium as an experiment to see if it will loosing things up a bit. I'm sure in professional hands a detailed painting can be produced but, this isn't my aim. First painting, a Costa coffee, I took a picture of this for my second attempt ... Not a very good photo, sorry.

Edited
by Carol Jones

P1080764

Carol .

  • Respected User
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 674
Posted
I finished this painting last night. A picture I took, one of many, at the garden center. An echinacea. I painted the flower first and then the background, after doing that I wanted to add more detail to the flowers. I decided not to. Hopefully I'll begin to produce something more abstract in the future. Practice will tell :)
Entwined, abstract

Sandra Kennedy

  • Respected User
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 705
Posted
Do keep posting them Carol, I'm really interested. Would love to do something with oil pastels and do have some good Sennelier ones, but don't know what I'd paint. If you do something more abstract I'll love to see it. I love the ones you've done so far.
P1080764

Carol .

  • Respected User
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 674
Posted
Thankyou Sandra for your lovely post, very encouraging. I was eyeing up the Sennelier range, also, expensive, but I did buy a set of 12 iridescent ones, these are lovely and smooth to use. Will be using these later on when I get a better command of things. I do like using this medium, I find it frees the process of getting down an image. I chose a few colours and stayed with them. I did experiment with the background of the flowers then blended in with white. Before I did my own paintings I copied two from a pastel book. I was pleased with them. I think it would breach copyright rules if I posted them here. I will keep posting, Sandra, and look forward to viewing some of yours. All the work I'll post will be from my own photo files. Happy oil pastel painting :)  

Ellen Mooney

  • Forum Expert
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 304
Posted
I did this some years ago in oil pastels and sold it at an art fair. Sorry for the poor quality of the photo but it’s the only one I have.  I’ll have to get them out again, and go more abstract! 

Sylvia Evans

  • Prestige User
  • Reputation: 16928
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 4788
Posted
I have some oil pastels somewhere ,must dig them out.  Lovely work both of tou….Ellen that is spectacular.
With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, Napa

  • Prestige User
  • Reputation: 24819
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 8651
Posted
Andrew Barrowman has a video on Rubens' oil pastels, I think - worth a search. 
P1080764

Carol .

  • Respected User
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 674
Posted
Lovely work, Ellen, I like the look of that one. Hope you find them, Sylvia. Not the easiest of medium to use but well worth the effort when it turns out right. Thanks, Robert. I'll do a search for him when I logout.

Martin Shaw

  • Forum Expert
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 391
Posted
Any cheaper brands aren’t worth it. Their version of soft isn’t soft enough. If you like pastels harder, then go even cheaper… can’t blend though. 

Denise Cat

  • Prestige User
  • Reputation: 6943
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 2623
Posted
Oil pastels are something I have never tried, I know they can be quite difficult to work with. I work with soft pastel but maybe I'll try these sometime. Lovely pastel paintings ladies and that's a stunner Ellen.
P1080764

Carol .

  • Respected User
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 674
Posted
I've looked at Andrew Barrowman at work with the pastels. I found it interesting to see his method of working and his use of mark making with a pencil. Today I decided to try a different method of blending. Cutting two angled slices from one of those massive rubbers that can be bought for a pound, its been in the draw for years. I found it very different, but cleaner than using a brush, a cleaner blend, I like the texture it produces, also, and the rubber's edges can be used to produce very thin lines by grazing the oil pastel along the long or short edge. It's all trial and error at the moment. This started out as an early morning snow scene, but hey ho, its ended up as a flooded river. I'm still pleased with it.

Edited
by Carol Jones

P1080764

Carol .

  • Respected User
  • Last active:
  • Posts: 674
Posted
Denise, you're a talented lady, I'm sure you'd get on with these a treat.
Showing page 1 of 2