Ex oil pastel virgin

[Carlanna]

I've just discovered an old box of oil pastels and thought I'd like to give them a try . . . .

Dragged out a sheet of watercolour paper and got stuck into it . . .

Like the feel . . . smooth . . .silky. . . . watercolour paper a bit bumpy but adds character.

Oops! . . . made a mistake . . . kneadeable rubber . . . yuck! . . . . yellow smudges . . . . now what ? ? ?

Here's the picture so far . . . . . as you can see left eye's a bit of a mess.





I know there's some great oil pastellists out there.

How do you erase?
How do you blend? Do you blend???
Anything special I should know?

Would really appreciate any advice.

Carla

[Holley]

Hi Carla, I am a fairly new oil pastelist myself.
I pastel on canson paper and use just a normal eraser - one of those white ones that rub out led, it takes a layer off at a time. I am not sure what other oil pastelists use? I would like to know some of their secrets too.

To blend I just smudge the pastel in the direction of the shadows or light. I work softly building my layers as its easier I think to work gradually on an area than go to extremes that are hard to fix. Gosh, I dont know, listen to me I am babbling, hehe. I like your picture, did you draw her from the top of your head?
- Holley

[Luvy]

I've never used oil pastels. At one time about a year ago I thought oil pastels were all pastels LOL But over this almost a year I"ve learned better LOL Great job so far. *S* I like her expression Think maybe a tad too much curve on HER right side, by the eye

[Dyin]

Hey...look at you! oil pastels! Ok...since you did this on watercolor paper there's a possibility you can lift it out with turp...an almost dry brush and very lightly dab and blot...I don't really erase...I start out with a very very light sketch that i can cover if needed...you can scrape back with a razor, it may leave a very light pigmentation though...but I have done this before...taken an area back down to the paper and rebuilt...as for blending...you can use turps, you can push with a rubber tool or fingers, fold a paper towel and use the corner...and all the brands seem to work differently...I used an acrylic brush to lightly brush one color over another with the Senneliers...the Caran d'Ache had me using the rubber tool...also used with the S's...but the new Holbeins are acting a lot more like soft pastels...I'm not blending as much, in fact rubbing the colors together gave it a dull muddy look...lightly laying one color over another and occasionally blotting a line with a cotton swab...and if you want to try and see how the turp does...use a scrap piece first...dab some color on it and try lifting it...if it's too wet it will spread rather than pick up...hope something helps...and hours of reading on the oil pastel info thread...

[CarlyHardy]

My experience with oil pastels were less than nice! LOL but, there's a wealth of info in the sticky thread at the top of the forum. You might like to read thru it also.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/show...threadid=98103

carly