Oil
Pastel Painting
"He who works with
his hands is a labourer. He who works
with his hands and his head is a
craftsman. He who works with his hands,
his head and his heart is an
artist."
-- Saint Francis of Assisi
I am very touched to receive kind emails from
fellow artists and art students enquiring
about oil pastels and my own techniques
painting animals. Although I try to answer as
many as I can, I've also added this page for
those who may be interested in the few tips
and personal preferences I can put into
words. For further information on oil pastel
and more in depth resources, please look over
some of the pastel books listed in my Bookshelf, visit
the Oil Pastel Society, see
John Elliot's oil pastel FAQ page or
Wikipedia's oil pastel information page. The Oil Pastel Forum at
Wetcanvas is also definitely worth a visit, as
there are many talented artists in the
community offering inspiration and personal
advice.
STEP-BY-STEP
ILLUSTRATION:
Please click below to see Coco's portrait from start
to finish...
OIL PASTEL BRANDS: There are many brands of oil pastel
available today in a variety of grades. The
greater the quality, the higher the ratio of
pure pigment to its oil & wax binder, and
the finer the quality of ingredients -
allowing for richer colours and finer
technique. Student or hobby grades are
relatively easy to find in your local art
supply store - Van Gogh and Sakura Cray Pas
Expressionist are both very popular. Artist
grade oil pastels from Holbein, Sennelier,
and Caran D'Ache can be harder to find and
significantly more expensive, but they are
the finest quality and ensure your paintings
will last a lifetime.
I begin
by using Cray Pas to block in larger areas
and sketch some of the base work, then move
on to the development of the painting at
which point I switch to Sennelier and
Holbein. Sennelier, originally developed in
collaboration with Picasso in the 1940's, are
extremely soft and rich, often referred to as
having the consistency of lipstick. I've
found them particularly effective for
finishing work and bright highlights. Holbein
are harder, but have a beautiful smoothness
and an incredible range of colours. Their
square sticks are very useful for creating
finer lines.
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DETAILING
& TEXTURE:
I am often asked about achieving
realistic detail with oil pastels, as the
medium is relatively soft, making it
difficult to maintain sharp edges with
which to create fine lines. While this
softness means oil pastel is excellent
for bold work and heavy impasto effects,
artists who work in detail must turn to a
variety of methods in an effort to
overcome this characteristic.
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I approach each painting by first laying down
the main areas of colour and tone. Still
using the oil pastel sticks, I then go back
and begin building up further layers, slowly
mixing colours, adding tiny swirls and
strokes of oil pastel at a time and always
keeping texturing in the correct direction
for the hairs of the subject. After this, I
begin working the surface with my fingers
(best for large smooth areas), sharpened
blenders and rubber colour shapers (kept damp
with a nearby sponge to help them glide more
easily over the surface), gradually blending
together the various layers of colour into a
seamless texture with many, many strokes of
these tools.
Be sure
to take note of the type of hair you are
painting, as all hair is not created equal!
Long, flowing tails and coats are best
reproduced using long, smooth natural strokes
layered upon each other...while shorter hair
and partings in an animal's fur, as well as
areas where hair is pointing out toward the
viewer, can be achieved with scumbled marks
and shorter, tighter strokes.
The
finest details around the eyes and mouth, and
highlights, are painted by picking up tiny
amounts of oil pastel with the tip of a
blender or the sharp edge of a white eraser
and applying them this way, rather than using
the oil pastel stick. Scraping back through
layers of oil pastel with a hard, fine
blending tool (sgraffito) can also be very
useful for creating the texture of individual
hairs. Letting a painting sit for a day or
two to allow its surface to slighty cool and
harden (although oil pastel will never dry
completely) also helps if you need to add
fine lines over a previously worked area. For
creating soft edges around a portrait, I've
found it useful to use a rounded white eraser
to catch the edge of the oil pastel and drag
it out in curves and lines fading over the
paper like hair.
Although
I do not employ the technique personally,
many oil pastelists work by thinning down oil
pastel with turpentine or mineral spirits so
that the medium can actually be painted with
a brush or used as a wash. This is a very
effective method and opens up several new
creative possibilities - but keep in mind if
you are thinking of experimenting with this
technique, it is most important that you only
do so in a properly ventilated area as the
fumes can be harmful.
One
further tip - if there is an area of a
painting you wish to keep light, or you are
experimenting with composition, it's often
advisable to lay a fine layer of white oil
pastel over this area of the paper first.
This allows you to then scrape back and begin
again if need be, as darker pigments in
further layers of oil pastel will not have
been able to stain the paper quite as much
through this white base.
PAPER & SUPPORT: There
are so many different varieties of paper
available and it comes down to personal
choice and approach in the end. Many oil
pastelists choose Canson papers of which
there are several varieties (some specially
for pastels) and tints. One of the beauties
of oil pastel is its versatility and ability
to bind to a support, allowing you to paint
on a variety of other surfaces such as wood,
glass or canvas.
Since
heavily textured papers can cause oil pastel
to 'clump up' in the depressions or skip over
them (very effective for some styles of
painting), I prefer to use smoother papers
with only a subtle suggestion of texture, so
that it does not interfere with the detailing
I aim to achieve in my portraits.
Specifically, at the moment I enjoy painting
on 300lb, hot pressed Aquarelle watercolour
paper by Arches. It has a gorgeous surface
with just the right balance of smoothness and
texture.
If you haven't yet tried oil pastels,
please pick up a set and try experimenting
with this wonderful medium. I hope the above
has been of a little help at least. Have fun,
good luck and enjoy!
All images on this site © Artist Sarah
Theophilus 1991-2007, no reproductions permitted.
Please contact the Artist for licensing
information.
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