When it comes to painting with pastels, you can choose from different types that you can use. If you are used to or have been using soft pastels, using oil pastels will open up a whole new world for your creative energy. Here are some of the pros and cons of how to paint with oil pastels:

The cons

Due to their oily texture, oil pastels are not as easy to remove from the surface of the paper. Fine details and extreme precision is something that you will find difficult to achieve with these pastels. Oil pastels are more difficult to mix because their oil makes them quickly adhere to paper, which also leaves less room for error. They take longer and require more pastels to fill in large areas of your scene, portrait, or whatever artwork you are creating. Its oily texture makes darker colors prone to smudging, making it difficult to add lighter colors.

Simple remedies for cons

Choose the area you want to color first and then draw the outline. You will leave less room for error when it comes time to add oil pastels. Choose a painting style, object, and scenic option that doesn’t need fine or intricate details, or use another instrument (such as an eraser edge or blending tool) to scrape off the fine details.

For areas that need a lighter color, outline them with a white pastel to make sure no smudging occurs. If smudging occurs when adding the darker colors, simply scratch the white area again for an easy fix. Choose smaller paint sizes to eliminate the need to fill in large areas of space, or choose colored paper to start with rather than white paper, creating the illusion of fuller color.

The professionals

Due to their smooth texture, oil pastels are works of art with bold and vibrant colors. They do not have a dry and dusty texture, so the vibrant color will not diminish if struck. Unlike the flaking that occurs with soft pastels, setting sprays will create a brilliant shine on oil pastel paints and keep them from smudging. There are a wide variety of surfaces (such as cardboard, wood, or canvas) that they can be used on. Oil pastels do not require the use of many supplies, such as brushes, palettes, easels, and turpentine (or other cleaning supplies), and so on that other mediums do.

Getting out of your soft pastels comfort zone may not be what you wanted to try right now, but this type of pastel may be just what you need to help with artist blockage and unleash your creative imagination. The pros and cons speak for themselves. After reading this article, you may still not be convinced that using oil pastels is right for you. Don’t take my word for it. Try it yourself. A picture is worth a thousand words!