In this post, I’m going to introduce some tools and materials which you may find useful in painting with oil pastel. Pat will introduce a separate thread on techniques as soon as she gets her new studio operational. Please feel free to add your tips on materials and tools to this thread.
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[FONT=Verdana]Oil pastels[/FONT][FONT=Verdana] (OPs) are made from powdered pigments, wax, and non-drying mineral oil. The professional quality oil pastels are listed here, in order from softest and least waxy to hardest and most waxy. Note, though, that within a given line there is some variation in the softness between colours:[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Sennelier: the line comes in two sizes, regular, and Grande which are good for doing larger works.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Holbein Artist: come in different values for the same hue. In their full set, the number of values is 5; when purchased individually, there are only 3 values available.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Caran d’Ache Neopastels[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Cray-Pas Specialist [/FONT]
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Student grade OPs are also available, made cheaper in price by reducing the pigment load and increasing the wax content. Their waxy nature makes them harder to work with, and the reduction in pigment means that they will not have the colour saturation of professional OPs. Please note, to avoid purchasing their student grade OPs by mistake: Holbein makes a student grade which are round in shape, and Cray-Pas makes a student grade called Expressionist. We recommend that, if you can afford it, you start with professional quality OPs – the difference in handling is quite noticeable. The professional quality OPs are available individually or in sets.

[FONT=Verdana]Once you have purchased your OPs, you need a way to store them ready to use. If you buy a set, you may get an appropriate box. But, if you have more than one brand, you may want to integrate them, or you may need a way to store individually-purchased OPs. My solution was to purchase ArtBin pastel trays (they come three to an ArtBin box), in which I have integrated my Sennelier and Holbein OPs. I keep an empty tray on my drawing table, and when I am painting, I transfer the particular OPs I am using for the piece to it for convenience. Pat used to use plastic storage containers with lids for her OPs, separated by colour, and while painting, placed her active OPs on little plates. She has recently changed her storage method and will post a picture of her new pastel box when she sets up her studio.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]The choice of surface for your OPs is very important, as they behave differently on different surfaces. It pays to experiment with surfaces until you find ones you like. Some commonly used surfaces are: [/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Art Spectrum Colourfix paper, which is 300gsm hot press watercolour paper coated with Colourfix primer. It has a fine-toothed texture and comes in a variety of colours. The primer may be purchased separately as well, and you can then coat your choice of support with it.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Wallis sanded paper, which comes in white and Belgian mist (beige). This is available in professional and museum quality versions.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Strathmore Bristol Vellum paper, which is a smooth white surface.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Watercolour paper, available in hot press (smooth), cold press, and rough surfaces.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Canvas board, which has a cross-weave texture.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Masonite board, which has a smooth surface and should be gessoed.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Mat and illustration board. Here the surface texture will depend on the choice of board.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Smooth clayboard, which can be coated with Colourfix primer[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Canson pastel paper, which I find too flimsy for blending and layering OPs.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Sennelier Oil Pastel Card, which I find has too marked a texture and don’t use.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Blending of your Ops can be achieved in two ways: mechanical blending, or the use of mediums. Addressing mechanical blending first, the tools that can be used are:[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Colour shapers: I have several sizes of the Royal Sovereign firm (dark grey) colour shapers, which I use a lot. The light grey are too soft for this purpose. They can also be used to fill small areas if you scrape a bit of OP onto one corner and then transfer to your painting. I wipe my colour shapers with paper towels to keep them clean as I’m painting.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Tortillons: are tightly-rolled paper, shaped to a pointed end, and serve the same purpose as colour shapers. They can be found in various sizes.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Fingers: often the smoothest blend can be achieved by using your fingers, as the heat from your skin melts the OPs. To clean my fingers, I keep baby wipes handy. For large areas, I use a rubber finger available from a stationary store, to save wear and tear on my skin. Wallis sanded paper can abrade your skin if you’re not careful.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]It is also possible to use vinyl erasers and folded paper towels to blend. One oil pastellist who has fibromyalgia has reported using an electric toothbrush to blend her OPs, so be inventive and experiment.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]Using mediums to blend is more like traditional painting in that you use a brush to smooth the ops over the surface. Various oil painting mediums will work, including odourless mineral spirits, turpentine or turpenoid, Weber’s Res-N-Gel, and Zest It, a non-toxic product available on-line from England. Note that, when you use mediums, you must use a surface which is appropriate for oils, such as canvas board, or coated papers such as Wallis or Colourfix, or one which has been primed with gesso.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]I usually apply the OPs first and then smooth and blend with a synthetic brush dipped in my medium of choice. To create an under-painting, you can brush your medium onto the surface first and work into that with your OPs, but this will thin the OP to a more washy consistency than the other method. A different way to use a medium, not involving a brush, is to dip your oil pastel into the medium before applying it to the surface. In all cases, there will be a waiting time for the medium to dry before you can proceed to add more OPs to the surface.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]If you want to remove OPs from a surface, it can usually be done to a reasonable degree. In all cases, the best way to start is to scrape off the OP using a palette knife or single-sided razor blade. A kneaded eraser can then be used to pick up more of the OP. Finally, a Q-tip dipped in turpentine or odourless mineral spirits will help to remove most of the remaining OP. On a surface coated with acrylic gesso, I find that rubbing alcohol on a Q-tip will remove the OPs completely. Knifes and razor blades can also be used as painting tools when using the sgraffito technique to expose under-lying colours.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]I use Walnut Hollow oil pencils (available at Michaels craft stores) and Pitt and Carbothello pastels pencils to add small details at the end of a painting. These can also be used for your initial drawing and, by choosing an appropriate colour, you can avoid any problem of them mixing with and mudding your OPs. I’ve also illustrated a pastel holder which is useful when your oil pastel is worn to just a nub. They come in different sizes for different pastels.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Since OPs contain a non-drying oil, they never completely dry, and can smudge and collect dust. To display your completed OP paintings, it is best to frame them under glass, using a mat or spacers to prevent the painting from touching the glass. To simply store them, you can apply Sennelier Oil Pastel fixative – I’ve found it requires three coats to prevent smudging. I didn’t notice any change in colour in the painting using this fixative, but it does make the surface quite shiny. You can also stack your OPs with wax paper or glassine paper between them. Marilynn Brandenburger is experimenting with framing her OPs like oils without glass. She applies four coats of Sennelier oil pastel fixative and then applies four coats of Golden varnish to protect her work. The longevity of this approach is still to be decided.[/FONT]

To finish, I thought I would mention sources of information on oil pastels. First and foremost is the Pastel Library here at Wet Canvas. Look for the thread “Oil Pastel index” on the first page and also check out the Oil Pastel Classrooms that have been done over time.
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[FONT=Verdana]At this point, there are no videos or DVDs available. The most easily accessible book is Oil Pastel for the Serious Beginner by John Elliot. A good source which is now out of print is Oil Pastel Materials and Methods by Kenneth Leslie – it may be available used or through interlibrary loan. There is a short chapter on OPs in The Pastel Book by Bill Creevy. There is a very introductory book by Jacqueline Black in the Learn to Paint series which I personally would not recommend.[/FONT]

Hope this is useful. Jane

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