ARE OIL PASTELS FOR YOU?

For a long time I have wanted to start working in oils but my studio is inside our house and the thought of the mess, difficult-to-clean brushes and smell—apart from oil paint spattering on carpet, curtains and walls—made it seem totally impractical.

So when I heard about oil pastels I was really excited. Could I have found the “perfect alternative” to oil paints? The chance to start working in oils, in a cleaner, simpler way?

Oil pastels were developed by Sennelier in 1949 for Pablo Picasso, who was looking for something that had intense, vibrant colour and could be applied to a wide variety of surfaces. The resulting pastel was 100% lightfast and could be used on almost any surface without cracking or effecting the substrate, including colored paper, cardboard, canvas, wood, glass, leather, polystyrene and even plastic.

They are produced by combining pigment, oil and a wax binder, have a slightly creamy/waxy consistency and feel greasy in the hand. They will not crumble like soft pastels.

So far, so good.

Excited about the possibilities of oil pastels, I rushed out and bought about 20 Caran d’Ache Neopastels - and one big Sennelier block pastel.

But for me, things went downhill from there for the following reasons:

I immediately noticed that oil pastels resist blending—or at least make it very difficult. “Clumpy” and heavy, it’s challenging to achieve delicate blends, and certainly not the wonderful blends that soft pastels produce so easily.

Colours can indeed be worked together with those placed next to them to produce “gradients”, but again, in a quite limited way. Blending is possible, but it will take persistence on your part to make it happen or look the way you want it. You will need to experiment to find which way works best for you; a finger, a foam blender, a blending stump or a colourless blender designed for the job.

Because of their oily texture, once oil pastels are laid down, they are not easy to remove (or “lift out”) from the surface of the paper. Once down, they tend to stay down and are not easily manipulated.

I find it hard to create detail with oil pastels, which severely limits its usefulness for me. Working alla prima (Italian for “at first attempt”),seems to the most effective way of working with oil pastels…working quickly, with broad expressive dashes of colour laid next to each other, served me best. I have up trying to achieve details!

Colours already on the surface tend to influence (mix with) the next colours applied on top. A third layer may well produce “mud” (a dirty mix of colours, veering towards brown).

It’s important not to “kill the surface”, that is, lay down the oil pigment so thickly that it fills up all the holes and cervices and becomes too slick to work on anymore. (With soft pastels, it’s possible to layer many more layers, one on top of the next).

Because they are oil-based, they can be manipulated with the solvents found in oil painting studios –turpentine and odourless mineral spirits. This makes them fairly easy to thin out and even create washes. This, for me, seems to open the door to the most creative possibilities and most exciting effects available to oil pastels.

Soft pastels require a toothy surface which can grab the pigment particles holding them in place, but I find that oil pastels seem to work best on smooth glossy surfaces like Bristol paper, with a hard, smooth surface which allows colours to be moved around and blended to the maximum.

Working on a textured surface like cold-pressed paper, leads to “clotting” of the pigment in certain areas, while “skipping” the holes and pits in other areas, leaving them untouched.

One good option is to employ a technique called sgraffito (Italian for “scratched”) which consists of putting down a preliminary layer, covering it with another (or more than one), and then scratching the top layer/s to reveal underlying layers. To work well, a smooth surface is required. Sgraffito does not work on a textured surface because the pastel “digs in” and fills the holes and crevices, making it impossible to remove! 

Overall, I found that one of the best ways to use oil pastels is either to work over an existing acrylic painting or by first laying down a coloured “ground” (using either acrylic or watercolour) to provide an underlying, unifying effect for the subsequent work to take place.

Since they are so “sticky”, they tend to contaminate other oil pastels next to them. You may have to clean the oil pastels before using by wiping off colours transferred from other sticks. Again, not great for travelling or working outdoors. (Soft pastel don’t contaminate each other in this way).

Finally, I was disappointed to discover that, because oil pastels are made with non-drying oils and wax, they never completely dry or “cure”. In effect, they remain workable and slightly tacky and it is recommended to either frame them behind glass or spray fix them with any clear fixative when your work is finished. Your finished work will certainly need to be keep completed paintings separate from others or colours will transfer from one to the other and they may tend to stick to each other. For me, this would discount them as a medium for traveling which is always one of my concerns.

THE COMPUTER AS An Aid FOR Artists

Not long ago I asked other artists the question; how important is the computer in your painting process? I was surprised to hear that many artists don’t use the computer at all. Leaving aside the whole area of using AI to create art, the computer can be an incredibly useful tool in streamlining the workflow, from:

• Helping make decisions about colour, tonal values and composition

• Enhancing the ability to see detail in images

• Storing and organizing photos

• Keeping track of upcoming competitions and art shows

• Building databases of galleries and other artists

• Cataloguing paintings

• Printing paper copies of images to use as reference photos or to use in collages

• Colour-correcting photos of paintings

• Creating and updating websites and blogs

• Some artists use graphics tablets and pens to create art digitally

• Using all kinds of social media to network and connect

• Producing videos for posting onto Facebook, websites, Youtube, Vimeo and so on.

I’m sure there are probably many more creative ways that artists use computers as part of their creative process.

Varnishing acrylic paintings

This is for anyone who has completed an acrylic painting but is now becoming anxious about varnishing it! Heard about "bubbles", the varnish becoming "milky" or brush strokes ruining your work? This video walks you through the process of varnishing a painting so you can work with confidence and get good results. It’s not as hard as you might have heard!

Acrylic paints are expected to last for centuries and they don’t age, crack or discolor like oil paintings tend to. Although they are extremely permanent, water-resistant and durable after drying varnishing is the “finishing touch” which will unify your painting and bring out the intensity of those colours that may appear dull.

Art and Travel

Sketching near Siwa, a desert oasis in southern Egypt.

At times (though not nearly often enough!) art takes me on a real, physical journey, and I find myself far from home in every sense, meeting people, seeing places and experiencing things I never expected. Yet combining art and travel has its own set of challenges!

Sketching from my hotel room in Rajasthan, India.

Subjects that constantly move.

When painting overseas it is almost guaranteed that scenes will constantly change. A cow will walk into the scene, a bus may park and block the view, people group, move around, then disappear.

This van parked slap-bang in front of the scene I was painting in Spain!

The light may change rapidly. It can be extremely challenging to work on a busy street with the never-ceasing blaring of horns, buses, smoke, fumes and dust.

If you are able to develop the ability to work fast and confidently you can capture a scene in twenty minutes in pencil and paper, then take several good quality photos with either a digital camera or an iPhone, then go back to where you’re staying and complete the painting from three sources: memory, a sketch and a reference photograph.

Finding the lightest, most mobile art supplies to travel with.

I have experimented with oil pastel, watercolor pencils, watercolor crayons, pencil, ink and acrylics in my search for the “perfect” medium for travel. But I keep returning to watercolour.

You will find watercolour is great way to paint and travel. Because it lends itself to both working fast yet capturing details, you will be able to capture spontaneous sights and events. It is both easy to carry and set up and, because it is fast drying, you will be able to move on within minutes (unlike oil or acrylics!) All you will need is access to water when you arrive or bring some with you.

All my clothes and painting supplies, packed and ready to go in one backpack. My half sheets of watercolour paper are in the blue plastic bag to protect them as I travel.

Everything I needed to travel and paint, arranged on a table our $15-a-night hotel in Delhi: a pencil case filled with drawing supplies, a plastic watercolour palette, a small red bag with extra tubes of paint and my brushes which are protected by a bamboo wrap. This combination is easy to carry, light, not smelly or messy like oil paint, pastels etc.

Everything I needed to travel and paint.

My painting supplies ready to fit into the shoulder bag.

More than 30 tubes of paint—way too many! Count them!

Try to reduce the number of paints you take to about 12. This will mean less to carry and you will be able to mix colours with more confidence. On one of my trips to India, I had worried that I would run out of the one “essential” colour needed to complete a painting. This highlights the importance of learning to mix colours effectively with a limited palette!

One of the most effective, lightest and simplest tools to take while going out sketching or painting? Yup, the humble pencil and sketchpad. Never leave home—or your hotel room—without them. That may be all you need.

Time restraints.

I often feel incredibly pressured to “just paint something!” because time is so limited in a particular place. I catch myself thinking: “I am only here for two hours; I’ve got to paint something! I can’t waste this moment, this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!”

Try not to give in to the pressure of jumping into painting too fast while neglecting to find a subject that “works” and that you are really excited about. If you can, remember to quickly carry out small sketches to check that the composition holds together. Most important; relax and enjoy. I really can’t emphasis enough that becoming stressed is the worst thing for an artist, because your best work will usually be when you “get into the zone” and just enjoy the journey!

Travel can be exhausting.

On a recent trip to Morocco just getting around took up almost the whole day. Often we started our loading the van at about 6am and got to our next destination at six in the evening. Did I feel like painting after that? Not so much. A cold beer and a good meal was top on my mind.

So many places to see—and so little time to paint!

You will often experience an inner struggle—do I make the effort to go out and sketch or do I just relax and recover from the day’s travel? Plan your day and try to make sure you have both time to relax and time set aside for painting. If you can, find a good balance between travelling and painting. I recommend a 3:1 ratio—three days settled in one place for every day on the road, train or plane.

Painting “by committee”.

In many countries people seem to think that art is a democratic process! Everybody has a say and an opinion about your work. In India people will stop and stare, and sometimes gather around in a circle until the subject you are trying to paint is completely out of view!

You may find it annoying when people offer advice, “Hey, you should put him in the picture”, pointing to their best friend, or worse, stare curiously at your art as if they have totally no idea what you are actually painting! With time you will see that this is nothing more than friendly interest and curiosity. You will discover that painting is a great way to meet people and break down cultural barriers (much less threatening than an intrusive camera). As time goes by, you will learn to worry less about what others think and stop trying to “justify” your art to those around you. Instead, you will find that you are able to focus on enjoying the painting experience—and getting to know the local people.

Practical challenges.

The difficulties of traveling and painting include the risk of watercolour paper getting torn or damaged during repeated bus or train journeys and paint that leaks from tubes. The latter has been especially bad with Daniel Smiths, with the tops breaking and the painting coming out of tubes of paint. On my last trip, every time I moved to a new location, I had to individually wrap those tubes in paper towels to stop them leaking onto the other tubes, onto my fingers and then onto the paper! The worst pigments are the highly staining pigments like Thalo blues and greens—once they get onto a clean sheet of paper they are impossible to lift off.

Paint that leaks from tubes during travel.

Other challenges include sweat dripping from your face or dirt from your hands getting onto the paper. In some countries dust is pervasive and gets onto everything—including your freshly laid wash of watercolour! Rapid changes in temperature, from way-too-hot to very cold within a few minutes, can affect both the drying time of wet paint and test your resolve to keep working, especially at high altitude in countries like Nepal. All of these situations are where determination to complete your sketches comes in.

Coming to terms with the reality of poverty.

It can be shocking to witness the level of hardship experienced in many parts of the world. It may feel indulgent to paint in places dogged by pervasive poverty. Like me, you may struggle to sketch while those around me work 14-hour days just to survive. In poor countries it can difficult to reconcile the fact that you paid more just to fly to their country than they make in a year of hard work under the hot sun. For many people a “holiday” is completely unheard of. You may feel that even if you give some money…many others remain untouched.

Poverty can confront our values and assumptions about life. You will see many people like this on the streets of developing nations.

This woman in New Delhi worked into the night carrying bricks—yet still had time for a smile every time she saw me!

What to do? We all know stories of children being purposely disfigured to improve begging opportunities, or money given to beggars going directly to gangs.

One idea is to give money to organisations that work in local communities to support long-term development. Another is to buy packs of school books, pencils and erasers to give directly to children who, in many cases, need to bring their own supplies to school. A third is to travel with groups like Intrepid, who take small groups “off the beaten track” to visit handicraft initiatives that generate income for local communities.

YOUR OPTIONS TO travel and paint.

Option one: is to travel by yourself or with your spouse or a friend, carrying your art supplies with you. The advantage is that you have complete control over where and when you travel and your painting schedule. The disadvantage is that a huge amount of time can be taken up figuring out transportation and accommodation. How do you get around, find a good place to stay and get to the train station…all with limited language?

Option two: You could go on a “traditional” tour, with large numbers of people on a bus or cruise ship. Everything is highly organized, but you have very little control of your time or itinerary and are surrounded by people, even when you get somewhere you want to paint.

Option three: Painting holidays, on the other hand, involve traveling to one place then settling into your accommodation. Accommodation is usually in old farm houses or chateaux in beautiful countries like Spain, France and Italy. Each day trips are arranged to surrounding locations. More and more I think this is the most effective way to combine painting and travel. You are in a positive, supportive environment with small groups of people interested in painting. Your schedule is organized but includes plenty of free time to get creative. There are daily “demos” and opportunities to meet local artists. You will have to do some research before signing up. Some of my favourite painting holidays are run in Croatia by Slikamilina, a company founded by Lynda Milina.

Option four: Is to sign up with organisations like Intrepid, who take small groups of no more than 12 people “off the beaten track”. On tours like this, you are taken around by local guides, visit handicraft initiatives that generate income for local communities and experience first hand the cultural life of the people . Again, there may not be as much time as you like to paint.

These local craftsmen generate into for their families - and keep traditional skills alive.

Traditional Moroccan tagine.

What could be better than eating traditional home-cooked food—and knowing that at the same time you are helping the family?

Well, those are my thoughts. I would love to hear from you about what you have found to be the best way to travel and paint!

Painting on top of Mt. Sinai in Egypt, where Moses received the Ten Commandments. (We started up on foot at 4am for the five hour climb to the top—and left to come back down at 10am, before it got too hot!)