Oil Pastel Painting Techniques adds Vibrancy and Color to any Painting

The fabulous colors of pastels have been used by artists over the years as a method of drawing. There are a large number of ways to use pastels developed over the years by well know Europeans artists such as Manet, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Renoir, Delacroix, Bonnard, and the American artists like Cassatt, O’Keefe, Stella, Prendergast, Whistler, and William Merritt Chase.

Pastels were first used as a medium for sketching and for finishing work. Today they are a popular method used by artists such as Albert Handel, Janet Fish, Doug Dawson and Elizabeth Mowry. Painting is a way to express yourself, so when it comes to using oil pastel painting techniques there is really no right or wrong way. Here are a few different oil pastel painting techniques that you might like to try. Remember there are different types of pastels that you can use; hard, semi-soft, and soft; be sure to give them all a try as each gives a slightly different result when you’re painting.

The End- Hold the pastel like a pencil and draw with the end, this is one of the easiest ways to draw with a pastel.

The Edge- Use the side of the pastel to create large blocks of color, applying different pressures can create different textures on the paper.

Hatching and Cross-Hatching- This method is best suited to pastel pencils or hard pastel sticks. Hatching is a set of parallel lines, like fine lines (hence the pencil) that you draw close together.

Cross-hatching is the next step, drawing a second set of lines at an angle (most often at right angles to the first set). This is a method that is used for the beginning of blocking of a painting.

Blending- Pastels are the one medium that you do not mix until it is put on paper. You can blend pastels using use your fingers, cloths, cotton wools, and other tools that are made for rubbing.

Scumbling- A great way to achieve vibrancy of color, apply a layer of pastel, once the pastel has been fixed, you lightly drag a soft pastel on its side across the top. This will create a broken covering of the new color over the top.

Feathering- Is a more refined method of hatching, it also adds vibrancy to your painting.

Dusting- Hold a pastel over the block of color and scrape the pastels surface with a sharp object in order to create dust. Once you have achieved the look you want with the arrangement of dust on the paper, press the dust into the surface with a flat palette knife.

Painters have been using pastels as early as the 16th century. They are filled with rich vibrant colors that are very durable and permanent. Pastels do not fade with age, yellow, change, and the color does not oxidize. Painting with pastels is a great way to put bold colors, richness, and life and expression to your art work.

Copyright 2007 Janice J. Sterling - All Rights Reserved

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