Fantastic work so far , Frederique!
There are some things to consider
Smooth paper allows much less op layers but it does work better for fine details, therefore try and work in 2-3 layers only.
Hard op do tend to lift the bottom layer sometimes. Try warming up the op in your hands? Use cp for detailing(carefully as the point tends to dig in too deep if too sharp) or even oils if nothing else works.
Op’s have a way of their own and you get used to them with practice.
Love seeing your art work here.

Welcome back! Beautiful cat, such a gentle, curious expression.

It’s definitely your paper causing the problem. I use Clairefontaine Pastelmat and you can just keep on adding layers to that. Any kind of sanded pastel paper will allow layer after layer. There’s some discussion on different surfaces here: https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1472649

I don’t know that paper so had to google it; I don’t think it’ll be great as it seems to be slightly rough cartridge paper? However, it is totally subjective – what doesn’t work for me might well work for you! So give it a go and it would be great if you’d report back

Love your painting!
Wrt your paper – because different papers need different approaches at times, get used to your paper that you have before moving on to the next type of paper – a challenge in itself!

Hi Frederique! Your cat turned out beautifully, despite your problems with the paper you worked on. I think you got good advice from Christel and Sarah. If you have a lot of this paper, you certainly made it work, so it will get easier to handle the more you play with it.

There are papers out there that claim to be great for oil pastels, but some of us don’t care for them (Mi Teintes comes to mind) – so, as with most art, it’s all subjective. What works for YOU is what matters at the end of the day.

I hope to see more of your work!

Lovely, Frederique! I enjoy your use of color, warm and lively.

I am one that does use Canson Mi Tiente and also Fabriano Tiziano. I generally enjoy using them, but then can also get frustrated with the laid pattern. They are, however, affordable and come in a huge variety of colors. I also freely admit to not fully understanding how to make the colors work for me!

I look forward to both seeing your work, and learning about your experience with C a grains!

Mary Flora

Hi Frederique!

First off, your cat is beautifully rendered! really lovely painting despite fighting the OPs.

Second, I suspect your Mungyos are not the professional, artist grade ones. Aliexpress carries both the cheapos (student grade Mungyos) and the professional line. Actually it’s better to buy them on Amazon or art supply stores. Sellers on Aliexpress often don’t know themselves what they sell: student grade, artist grade, and even the prices can be misleading.

So, your OPs look like that, right?

(two options of having the “wrong” Mungyos; the text on the OP sticks says either “OIL PASTELS” or “ARTISTS’ OIL PASTELS” or sometimes even “GALLERY”)

And these are the right ones, the artist grade Mungyos – they layer WAY better and are much softer:

See? It looks different. The text says “gallery OIL PASTELS” (different font) and has numbers of the colors.