You Can Never Go Wrong in Oil Pastel Painting

You can never go wrong in oil pastel painting. That's one thing I like about it. The other thing is that an oil pastel box is so handy that you can carry them just about anywhere and start painting.

Because an oil pastel works best in toothed surfaces such as oil pastel paper, handmade paper, watercolor paper, sandpaper, and other textured surfaces, practically you can never go wrong in oil pastel painting. Like oil and acrylic painting, you can always paint over your mistakes. So that your support ( oil pastel paper, handmade paper, watercolor paper, sandpaper, etc.) would not go to waste.

Take for this experimental oil pastel piece in ghastly colors. Not only did I not like it, I also didn't want to see it ever again. So I have to paint over it, and support is never wasted.



First, I did my sketch over the unwanted artwork using a stick of oil pastel. For my oil pastel sketches, I would usually pick the longest sticks which means these are the colors I rarely use because they are still more or less intact.



Next, I color in my underpainting, still using the colors I rarely use so that these oil pastel sticks would have to have some use. I also pick colors that are still largely available for my background. I would like all my oil pastel sticks to be used up at about the same level.



Finally, I work on the details, shadows and highlights. Voila! My mother and child (actually a self portrait) oil pastel painting.

I think I have found my calling: doing body portraits as opposed to realistic face portraits.

Not only is there no waste in supports when doing oil pastel painting, the oil pastel sticks can be used up even up to the last bit. Thus, worry not, for you can never go wrong in oil pastel painting.