Oil pastels have buttery soft consistency with vibrant colors, made up of pigment and oil based binder, beeswax or other chemicals. They are very much similar to crayons. Oil pastels wont crumble, smudge or create dust unlike soft pastels. They are more stable, intense in color and do not require fixative.

It is very versatile medium and can be used to create different types of textures like impasto. One can use oil pastels in combination with turpentine to create glazed or washed effects. Some artists use heating technique while applying oil pastels!

Blending techniques used for oil pastels are totally different from dry pastels so cannot be used in combination with other pastel mediums. But they work miraculously with water based painting mediums like watercolor and gauche because of their water resistant property. As intricate detailing is difficult to achieve using oil pastels hence they are suitable for larger artwork.


Oil Pastels by Faber-Castle (set of 50) Students’ grade


Oil Pastels Still Life by Eric D. Greene
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