You can use a cloth to blend pastels, but chamois are even more effective. And you too will find your way and your own artistic expression. Let Reeves take you on a journey teaching the best practices for blending oil pastels. Below I explain how to use soft pastels. Great idea for a video Ruth. Best Paper For Soft Pastels: 5 Picks Strathmore 400 Series Pastel Pad A set of professional acid-free soft pastel paper, that has 24 sheets of different neutral colors for the largest versatility possible. It’s much easier to blend pastels on this paper! Because for me, to blend is to mix pastel colors in order to get the desired result. In this article, were going to highlight the main features of the best blending tools for oil pastels and why they are important when it comes to choosing the right one. These are the swatches on the Canson Mi-teintes paper. You are so right!! Layer more colors to achieve various values or even different hues. View my collection. I don’t blend except sometimes when I am working on skies, clouds or water. And thanks for clearing up the culinary terms Now I’m getting hungry!! Then enter your name and email address and get my weekly blog all about pastels ... it's FREE! I’m really enjoying your videos and blog. Please consider following me on Pinterest. Some artists find success using charcoal paper, and while the textured surface is excellent for oil pastels, this thin paper tends to tear if you apply dense layers of pastel to it. You do not have to use a lot of effort to get a strong level of color with these pastels. The versatility of pastels allows you to do all the things you mention. I’d love to hear so please leave a comment. Thanks so much Gail!!! They are great for sketching your pastel pencil drawings as well as creating very detailed work. Specializing in realistic animal art – be it wild animals or pets – I try to capture the individual character of every animal. The brands mentioned on the list such as Faber-Castell, Strathmore, Sennelier, U.S Art Supply, Mi-Teintes, and Canson are some of the popular picks on the market. And just see what happens. I’m pleased as punch that two of my shoe paintings (done in the 31 paintings in 31 days challenge) were accepted into the PAC online show – see the exhibition here. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. For me, blending is one of the great joys of pastel art. Learn how your comment data is processed. I like that you have found a compromise and certainly Pan Pastels will work beautifully for you. I think when you’re exposed to all methods, you have a huge tool kit at your command – you can use what you need when you need it. I look at “to blend or not to blend” as just a couple more tools to use as well as personal preference. Interestingly, in this experiment, the blended version retains more brightness than the layered one, and there’s pretty much no sign of the dulling colour. Remember, there’s a 15 day money-back guarantee. The beauty of pastels is that because the medium doesn’t “dissolve” in a liquid, those physical particles–large or small–refract light in such a beautiful way! You might want to give yourself or someone you love my online accessible-day-or-night online course, Pastel Painting En Plein Air. And so I blend. Thanks for the video. Light Pressure Blending Lightly add oil pastels on paper with little pressure. Hi! If you are searching for affordable, high-quality, and colorful pencils, you have come to the right place. It’s just one of the things I’m confused about. Blending can give paintings the soft polished look (for lack of a better term) such as in works from old masters, whereas not blending can offer a more raw look such as that in impressionist works. I love both. One of the most unique aspects of soft pastels is that you are able to blend the colors together. It’s not that I’m against blending per se but I sometimes think there’s too much reliance on it especially when participants say they want to loosen up or work more boldly. As for oil pastels, it’s better to use a cloth, brush, or paint knife to blend colors together . When working with oil pastels working with heavier paper is your best option. That’s why they are versatile! And thank you for taking time to go through my blog posts. Required fields are marked *. It adds tremendously to areas of the art. You can see in the blended pastels have a darker look than the layered one. Also, I’ll show you a closer look at each experiment especially on the UArt 400 sanded paper. I think the important thing is to know about different techniques and then experiment with them. You can see the idea of using a piece of paper with random marks on it in my previous blog post where I paint a bathtub plug in 20 mins. As I have worked more with pastel I wish I could get those looser strokes and keep the vibrant colors you lose when you blend. 218 colours. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. One thing I love in pastels is that you are painting with your fingers almost like the pigments leave directly from them. On the other hand, you can achieve individual strokes, creating fur movement, as well as do hard highlights. Your email address will not be published. Not always, but at times, when subtle effects are called for. When I teach a workshop (as many of my students will attest! I use blending scantily when it just seems to call for it. Great video, Gail! And so I blend. In class, I have been discouraged from blending and I definitely like the effect of layering better. So, if you want a set of oil pastels that are super …