Problems Blending...Help please

[DerRickster]

I've noticed with OPs that some colors are harder than others. The harder ones can scrape and lift the other colors on the paper exposing the paper. Here is a picture



Any suggestions? What are your work arounds, etc. Thx

[wabbitt]

Most people let it set up overnight. Personally I put the harder OPs (pentels), then I put a softer one on top (holbeins), then I put the squishiest on top of that (senneliers). You can also blend with turps or oils like turpenoid or odorless mineral spirits...there have been experiments with baby oil.

You can also play with temperature. Some people have experimented with an electric hot plate (can't remember if Bill used a variac with it). Some people have stuck their work in the freezer to help it set up faster. I'm not sure about that, it'll just get squishy again when you start working on it again.

Good luck...lots to try...

[DerRickster]

Is that with any brand of OPs?

[halthepainter]

Rick it sounds as if you are using a very hard brand of oil pastels.

My set of Munyos is very bad about scraping up a lower layer when applying subsequent layers of Munyos. A few of the colors are so hard that it is hard to get them on my surface.

I use Gray Pas Specialists or Erengis almost exclusively anymore. The more expensive Senneliers are saved for my top layers and I can gently bled them with my fingers.

The Senneliers are not going to scrape up any of the lower layers.

I also will use some of the harder pastels to actually push some of the lower layers out of the way when I'm adding an element to a passage.

[DerRickster]

it's the erengi's...some of them are very hard. Should I get them exchanged?

[Pat Isaac]

I always need a couple of layers of OP before I start blending. If the OPs haven't set up, I often have that problem even with my Holbeins.

Pat

[DerRickster]

ok...it sounds like the nature of the medium...I was starting to freak out a bit

[Andrew]

Unless they are extraordinarily soft, and I am not just relying on optical blending, I use a wee bit of solvent, or a colorless blender to soften up my edges.

Personally, a few well loved oil painting brushes and a small cup of odorless thinner or a similar product, handle all my possible blending needs. Which, btw, also works for wax crayons too.

Andrew

[ArtByFrida]

Another thing to try, and i didn't see this mentioned, is to warm up the tip of your pastel if it's a bit harder. You can do this either with bodyheat (rolling it or holding between your hands) or blowing a hair dryer on it for a short period of time. Don't hold the hair dryer to close though, or you'll overheating. You'll have to experiment with how long to use it depending on the type of pastel.

[DerRickster]

Originally Posted by Andrew

Unless they are extraordinarily soft, and I am not just relying on optical blending, I use a wee bit of solvent, or a colorless blender to soften up my edges.

Andrew

Question Andrew, how do you soften up your edges with a colorless blender

[DerRickster]

Has anyone ever tried this...moisten the tip of your oil pastel with baby oil, then heat it up with a lighter? It seems like i can put more pastel on paper without lifting up the already pastel on the paper?

[halthepainter]

I haven't heard of anyone doing that. I know some people who heat their OPs with a hair dryer.