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  • #989581
    ullahennig
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        Please excuse me if my question is a dumb one. I just did a research in German art shops regarding oil pastels, and there’s one which has Senneliers and the jaxon brand I’ve got. Now I noticed that the Senneliers are pointed, and my Jaxons aren’t. In the beginning it is possible to make exact strokes with the edge, but then it gets more and more difficult. Do you sharpen oil pastels in order to be able to work more in a detailed manner or is this totally out of the question?

        Ulla
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        http://art-and-experiments.blogspot.de/

        #1160301
        Pat Isaac
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            I moved this thread over here so you will get more feedback.
            Not a dumb question at all, ulla. I think it would be hard to sharpen the Senns, but Russ, one of our OP artists, sharpens his neos with a crayon sharpener. I’m sure you can get these almost anywhere they sell crayola crayons.
            Here is one of his threads where he explains that.
            https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1055502
            Pat

            #1160305
            halthepainter
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                Hi Ulla. Fine lines are a problem with oil pastels so I usually avoid them. Quite often if I need a fine line, I will find a irregular corner on my oil pastels and use that temporary narrow edge. I’m much too cheap to sharpen my oil pastels. often I will lay down a line with a stick that is a bit too blunt and then scrape the excess away with my paper stump. This scrape away is also done with a razor blade or an exacto knife.

                If the oil pastels haven’t been applied too thickly a colored pencil can make the line.

                You can also scratch a thin line in the over lying oil pastels especially if the underlying layers are either much darker or much lighter than the overlying colors. (I’m having a brain freeze and think how to properly spell the term.)

                I don’t really like this last technique because, if you are close to the painting, the lines just don’t seem to look right.

                [FONT=Fixedsys]

                #1160306
                rickop
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                    Another way is if you have a color shaper or clay shaper with a flat edge you can scrape the pastel with it to get a bead of color that can be precisely laid. It is a bit of work but it allows you to lay a tighter line down.

                    #1160303
                    wabbitt
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                        My favorite way for a sharp edge is to lay your straight edge paper down or removable tape or thin plastic (like an x-ray sheet) and paint over it. Lift it off, there’s your straight.

                        Next favorite is to scrape back with a razor or pallet knife.

                        Julie >:3 (Sketch/Art Blog, Personal Blog )
                        Wetcanvas has a Chinese Brush Painting thread and an Asian Brush Project

                        "Practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect." Ed Parker, Sr.
                        #1160307
                        Flycatcher10
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                            I don’t sharpen my oil pastels. I’m w/Hal, too cheap and don’t want to waste any part of the pastel stick.

                            I use one of two tools: a Kemper Wipe-out tool or a clay shaper.

                            I lay down a thin edge and then use either tool to extend the line out. It comes out nice and thin. The Kemper Wipe-out tool creates a thinner/clean line more so than does the clay shaper. See picture below.

                            #1160302
                            Pat Isaac
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                                I like that Kemper tool, Mary. I had not heard of this one.

                                Pat

                                #1160304
                                Darci Jones
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                                    Like most others, I use clay shapers. Have never tried to sharpen an OP. The portfolio ones come sorta sharpened like crayon shape though.

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