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The characteristics of pastels can
vary according to the composition of pigment and binder. The marks made are dusty and can
therefore easily be blended on the
painting surface. Very soft pastels are ideal for
painting swathes of crunchy colour. There are also hard pastel
sticks, (often referred to as conte crayons or carres) which are
ideal for drawing or finer, detailed work. Finally, there are also
pastel pencils, where the pastel has been formed into a lead.
These are far less dusty and ideal for drawing or adding finer
detail to a painting.
Oil Pastels are quite a
newcomer compared to most media. similar to high quality crayons,
they were developed in the 1920's and were considered a children's
medium for quite a while.
Along came Pablo Picasso and the rest,
as they is say, is history! In 1947, Picasso and an artist
colleague, Goetz, asked Sennelier if they could come up with a
professional version and two years later they did.
Picasso's art adorns the Sennelier Oil
Pastel Range
Over recent years, oil pastels have
enjoyed a real growth in popularity. It's not that long ago,
10 years or so, when it was quite difficult to find oil pastels in
most art stores. I was told once "we only stock professional art
materials!" Mention of Picasso seemed to fall on deaf ears.
It's different now and there are many
brands available to supplement Sennelier's fabulous range. My
personal favourites are made by Caran D'Ache.
Oil pastels are made using high
quality pigments bound with wax and inert oils. they are non
yellowing and adhere to many materials - even wood and glass!
Of course, they can also be applied to any paper surface as well as
canvas.
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