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[pencilwizard]

Hi all need some advice.I have just been given a set of Oil pastels,by another artist friend,but to be honest i am not sure how to use them.I know what i wnat to do with them,but what sort of paper would i use,and what to use for blending them.Got it into my head to do some large kindof Fantasy type florals,lots of colour.Very differnt from my ususal detailed way of working.Any advice thks.

[Deco]

Hi drawingirl,
some info about oil pastels that may be of use.

Important thing when you work with oil pastels is that your paper has a grain
and a certain thickness - 180g/m2 and more works fine.
Oil pastels can't well stick to to the surface of smooth or printing paper.
To smooth or blend some areas on your drawing you may use cotton buds
and tissue paper.
Oil pastels are very colour saturated, so to get a light colour, you should start using
a colour 1-2 shades lighter than you wish the finished product to be.
This ensures that you will be able to correct any mistakes by simply wiping over
the area with a tissue. It also makes blending other colours smoothly.
You can also use oil pastels to work on different medium as tempera,
acrylic or chalk-pastels and get a texture effect to your drawings as oil pastels
leave behind a very rich velvety surface.
When you finish your pastel drawing, you may protect it with a special
oil pastel varnish.

Hope it'll help as a start

[pencilwizard]

Thks Deco,i thought a thicker paper would be the best,which is good,cos that is all i use anyway.What about turps or linseed oil for blending as well?I know a few artists have used it,not sure wether it would be a good idea for a complete novice though lol.?

[Deco]

There isn't any problem to use turpentine or linseed oil, except the awful smell
but I personally think then is better to use oils they're more "tractable"
than oil pastels. Turpentine and linseed oil are oily and may cause quite a lot
problems on paper but anyway if you like experimenting and have enough pastels
for tests why don't you try?

[Brian]

Baby Oil works fine...so i'm told

[wolfhazel]

Pastel paper and sand paper are recommended by many, they are quite easy to get a hold of try 'Great Art' online or order a catalogue from them.
I just tend to use different things for blending depending on the effect I am after, it's a case of experiementing, I just use things that are easily found around the house such as cotton buds, fingers, etc.

[pencilwizard]

Thks Wolfhazel,i have been finding that out as i go just using a number of things to do the blending,and experimenting at the same time.Much fun,but now i am torn between Oil and Chalk pastels,cant decide which i prefer.

[wolfhazel]

I know the feeling they're my favourite too ... I think it just depends on the painting which I choose.