Oil Pastels I am Using

I have just recently begun to reuse pastels and oil pastels at that.  I like the way they blend and the vibrancy of their colours.  The immediacy of the blending is both exciting and a challenge.  Now, while out looking for illustration board with a rough surface, I found a store with some Sennelier oil pastels.  I had been working with another artist's set but not a professional one like Sennelier.  There is a difference.

With the artist's set I can lay down colour -even under colour- and blend easily.  They seem more waxy when I handle them.

Here are the 24 Sennelier oil pastels I bought,  I put them into my own wooden box for easier transport.
"In 1949, Parisian painter Henri GOETZ approached Henri SENNELIER the famous artist materials manufacturer, about creating a wax colour stick for his friend
Pablo PICASSO. Picasso, a long-time Sennelier customer and a frequent visitor to their store across the street from the Louvre museum, was looking for a medium that could be used freely on a variety of surfaces without fading or cracking.
Their collaboration produced the incomparable SENNELIER oil pastels. Originally available in a palette of classic hues, the colour selection was expanded with the addition of metallic and iridescent hues.

Beyond these classic hues a selection of unique shades is available, and in particular a gradation of greys, required for a balanced palette. This evolution is the fruit of a long-standing collaboration with European and North American painters, who have worked with our company in developing an exceptional palette of shades."  from http://www.sennelier-colors.com/en/Oil-pastels_4.html


In both cases I use a palette knife to scrape away pastel. I am staying away from fixatives at this point as I have noted a change in hue when I have used it.  (Maybe its the type of fixative -I'm not sure.)

I will be working with these pastels over the next while until they feel right to me.

On another note, I have been having a time trying to find oil pastel sites that talk about technique.

If you use oil pastels -and if you use the more professional ones- let me know how you like or dislike them and how you use them.


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