© 2025 Antonella Ippolito
pastelli a olio
MY TECHNIQUE
Oil pastels
When you think of pastels, oil is usually the last thing that comes to mind...
Everything you need to know about a medium born for the art classroom and later loved by artists like Picasso.
It was 1921 when Japanese artist Kamae Yamamoto—known not only for his paintings but also for his commitment to folk art and children's art education in Japan—set out to develop a new type of pastel he meant to use in his teaching.
Oil pastels can be used in many different ways, depending also on their consistency—since there are numerous brands, each with varying textures and quality.
In general, they can be layered, blended, diluted with the same solvents used for traditional oil paints, or employed in techniques such as sgraffito.
For my work, I mostly use Sennelier oil pastels, which are exceptionally creamy—imagine the texture of a lipstick—and offer outstanding pigment quality, including excellent lightfastness. I also alternate them with Caran d’Ache pastelswhen I need shades not available in the Sennelier range or a slightly firmer texture, depending on what I’m painting and how defined certain elements need to be.
It’s not true, however, that oil pastels can’t be used for large surfaces—or, conversely, for small details. In the first case, larger-format pastels are available, specifically designed for broader areas. For finer work, it all comes down to the tools. I use rubber spatulas in various sizes—from very fine tips to wider ones for layering colors—as well as metal palette knives and brushes, especially in combination with solvents.
Paintings in oil pastel never fully dry, even when treated with fixative—something to keep in mind if you take one home. They should be framed with a passepartout at least 3 mm thick and kept away from direct sunlight, which can damage certain pigments.
Yamamoto aimed to promote a more flexible approach to teaching than the traditional Japanese model—an idea he explored in a book titled Theory of Self-Expression. To do so, he needed a tool more versatile than wax crayons or pencils, something that would allow students to discover a wide range of effects on their own.
It took three years before the right formula was founded, combining pigments with a binder made of wax and non-drying oil. This is how the oil pastel was born—initially marketed by the Sakura company under the name Cray-Pas. At first, there were two versions: a “winter” pastel, with more oil to prevent hardening, and a “summer” one, with less oil to keep it from melting. Eventually, stabilizers were added to ensure a more consistent texture year-round.
After World War II, some artists began using these educational pastels more “seriously.” In 1947, Pablo Picasso—who had been unable to obtain the Japanese pastels during the war—asked Henri Sennelier, a French manufacturer known for high-quality art materials, whether it would be possible to create a version specifically for fine art. The goal was to achieve effects similar to oil painting, but on any surface, without the need for priming or special preparation. After a year of experimentation, Sennelier introduced the first oil pastels designed for professional artists. These stood out for the stability and viscosity of their binders and the richness of their pigments.
Picasso, pleased with the result, bought 40 sticks of each of the 48 available colors. The rest of the production was displayed in the store—with some initial hesitation, soon overcome, as oil pastels quickly became a success. Today, the Sennelier range includes 120 colors!