Fur In The Paint

From Concept to Creation
This oil pastel, is as of yet, un-named. I am considering a couple of things, but nothing is firm. The size is currently 16×23.

I don’t think I realized just how much my artwork was influenced by compositional elements, until I started my artist journal, followed by the magazine articles and now the blog. I have always been sort of a visceral artist. I never really devoted great deals of thought, about how and why I do what I do. But since I have been keeping a constant written commentary about my artwork and how it’s created, I have really learned a lot about myself and my work.

Composition
It is the simple looking portraits that rely heavily on composition to make them interesting. It becomes about form and line, pattern and negative space.

The real desire for doing this painting was (as always) the horse. I love him. He is part of a matched team of Percherons that I had seen at two different events last summer. This guy in particular is stunning. I followed him around like a groupie, madly snapping pictures. His expressive eye and head shape are simply gorgeous. The reference photos below, are from both events. These are my main photo references for this painting. But I have around 20 others on my drafting table to look at for various reasons. Including another team that I photographed 15 some odd years ago, at a pull in South Dakota.

I could say putting him in front of a steel trailer, was totally a commentary on the draft horse’s usefulness in todays society, as most drafts aren’t really workers anymore. But in truth, I liked the compositional elements of the geometric shapes, set against his soft curves. I chose a roached mane (shaved close to the neck) because it strengthened the vision of that iconic working horse. And I will put him against the steel trailer (actually, it is probably aluminum) because of the symbolism it represents.

Subtle Differences
I spent around 20 hours draw time on him. This would seem to me a good argument for projecting. That being said, I made several small changes that I would not have been able to do, unless I had the ability to draw what I see. So please, learn to draw first, then project when necessary.

Most of the draw time was spent on the harness, which always takes a huge amount of time to get right. Also, I changed my mind in-process and had to re-draw the collar area. At first, my drawing didn’t have the reins draped over the hames of the collar. I thought it made the image too complex. But once I decided to removed the bridle and to roach the mane, suddenly it needed them there to add interest. I also changed the harness from a modern BioThane to a leather. I just love a horse that looks like it works for a living.

Quick Tip
I cannot draw a horse facing left, from a photo of a horse facing right. A person who is more photoshop loving than I, could just scan it in, flip the image, print it out and tah da! But being more lazy than that, I just held the photo face up to my table light, and drew from the ghost image on the back. All I really needed was the basic shapes. I have used my lamps to reverse the image many times. Extremely quick and quite effective.

In Part 2, we will explore getting the air space depth we need to prevent oil pastel transfer, from the painting to the glass, by using a wooden framing liner. This is my favored way to frame oil pastels. I like the simplicity, and it gives them the look of a oil painting. Also by framing in this way, it keeps my larger size paintings, from getting even larger (and heavier) because of the additional size and weight of the matting.

Add A Barrier To The Liner

I always line the liner. (Hmmm, I wonder if there was a better way to say that?) I generally use a 4 ply rag barrier board, or occasionally 2 ply. This prevents the artwork from coming into contact, and being damaged by, the wood of the liner.

In this photo, the liner is face down on the counter to show how it gets lined. I attach the barrier board with 1/4″ ATG, which is essentially a double sided framing tape. A glue would also work, just be sure to allow for proper dry time.

Glazing Placement

The glass is cut to the frame size. It sits between the frame and the liner, well above the artwork. Finish with a barrier board behind the painting and fill with an acid free foamcore board. Then, back off the framing as usual. See How To Frame Oil Pastels - Part 1.

Finished Framing

A simple classic look. I apologize for the lousy photo. I took it late in the day, when there was tons of glare coming through my front room windows. But you get the idea.

Part 3 will be sometime late next week. (hopefully) I am waiting on my matting for the demo piece to come in.

Since oil pastel paintings don’t really ever dry, they need some accomodations when it comes to framing. Namely, a deeper air space between the glass and the painting to prevent the transfer of the pastel. I do this primarily in 3 different ways.

1. Using matting
2. Using a wooden liner
3. Floating with a shadowbox

I will cover each way in its own post. Today we’ll start with creating depth using matting.

Creating Depth With Matting

Multiple Mats
Since I tend to work oil pastels by laying in thick coloring, I may use a minimum of a three mats, but most often I go with four. The multiple mats stacked up create the depth needed. This is pretty straight forward, so I won’t elaborate on it. However if anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask me.

Spacing Mats Apart
I achieve the depth I need by putting an (acid free) AF spacer in between the matting. This is not one of my paintings, nor is it an oil pastel. I am using the same technique for it, that I would for an oil pastel painting, because it adds a certain drama and interest when framing other items as well.

Note: This watercolor of a poppy was painted by a friend of mine, Arjes Youngblade. She has graciously allowed me to use her painting in this blog demonstration. Thank you Arjes.

Here is the artwork with bottom mat only, which was cut at 4 3/8 inches.

Here the AF foamcore spacer has been laid in place. It was cut at 3 inches. It needs to be well undercut from the topmost mat, so as not to be visible from any angle. In this instance, the spacer was cut 3/4″ less than the top mat.

Here the top most mat has been added. It was cut at 3 3/4 inches.

And now the frame and the glazing (glass) have been added. Because this project is an original watercolor, I am using Conservation Clear. (If you remember from my post on glazings, only clear glass should be used with anything that has depth to it.)

This is the back of the framing. A dust cover (brown kraft paper) is applied to help seal it from bugs and dust. The wire is set at 1/3 the distance down the frame. Bumpons are applied (the clear little knobbies on the bottom corners. They help to keep it hanging straight on the wall, as well as protect the wall from frame rub marks.) And lastly, a Conservation Clear label is applied to the back to explain the care of the glass.

Here is a cross section view of the layers, In this instance I used a black foamcore spacer to help differentiate it from the surrounding boards.

The layers from the top down are:
glazing (conservation clear)
top mat (C1607 Brite White)
AF foam core spacer
bottom mat (1607 Brite White)
barrier board (2 ply 100% cotton rag board)
AF foamcore backing board

Earth Movers - Oil Pastel 12 x 22
Copyright by Mona Majorowicz

Letting My Inner Colorist Out To Play
So here is the completed painting of
The Earthmovers.

I think there may be a colorist deep inside me trying to get out. Many of my paintings start out with all sorts of color and then I start toning them down until I finish with something that looks quite realistic with just hints of brightness. Mike rolls his eyes every time, when I look at a near completed painting and declare, “It looks too purple.” Apparently there is something going on unconsciously and then I have to pull it back into reality.

I think a part of it may have to do with the fact that I make my living selling my artwork. And the artwork produced thus far leans to a more realistic coloration. Occasionally I go ahead and do something rather bright. I had a lovely black faced sheep which was done in purple. The surprise was that it was apparently talked about in the community and it actually brought in a few locals to see the “Purple Sheep.”

Anywho, this painting started out as being quite realistic in coloring and then I was getting bored. (Yawn) So I thought what the heck, I doubt I will be happy with it as is, lets bump up the color. And here is the result. The sad thing is you can’t actually see the color that I am talking about in this scan of it. But trust me, it is just crammed with purples, periwinkles and gingers. (I just love that color combination.)

Oil Pastel Tips

• Have a plan. As I have mentioned before, I draw everything out in advance. The pastels stain my substrate and so it is problematic to scrape off a color that is wrong and replace it with another color of similar values or lighter. Another way to deal with this is to use lighter colors first. When you apply darker colors over light, you can scrape away all of the pastel and have minimal staining.
• For smoother blending, it is best to work consistently. If you leave the painting alone for as little as 15 minutes the pastel “sets up” and makes a rough edge. rubbing your finger lightly over the painting or warming the pastel a bit in your hand will help when going back in to work an older area.
• Letting the pastel “set up” can be an advantage when you want to put a strong color or highlight over the already existing painting. Often I will let a painting set over night before I put my whitest whites in, over the top of another color.
• Be aware of your lighting situation. Oil pastels will glow under the desk lamps. I think this is because the underlying board is reflecting light through the pastels. However when you put the painting under normal room lighting it may well look dark. I have had this happen several times. Under the table lights it is luminous (insert angelic chorus here.) Then when I hang it on the wall, it is flat and lifeless. So disappointing. How I handle this is by working with my table lamps off. I try to work under the normal lighting conditions that it will be viewed in. This also means I don’t paint much at night anymore, either.
• Clean up. As mentioned before, oil pastels are messy. They develop little booger like tags which roll all over and smear. The floor under my drafting table is all speckled and nasty. About every 2 months (it really should be done much more often) I take some dish soap and scrub like the dickens. Goo Gone also works well. Or, if I were a wiser person I would lay down some paper which could be picked up and tossed.

Tools For Working With Oil Pastels

• Gloves. Disposable gloves are a blessing. Oil pastels are quite messy and greasy. If you don’t want to be constantly washing your hands, I highly recommend getting gloves. I change my gloves regularly as well to avoid tracking on my painting. I go through 10-20 in an afternoon.
• Turpenoids. I personally don’t use them other than for cleaning up. However they are great if you want to use a paint brush with your pastels. Also you can smudge and soften using a rag and a little turpenoid.
• Paper Towels. I use paper towels to wipe the tips of my pastels. This helps to prevent cross contamination of colors.



• Ceramic Tools. These are great for scraping out a large area or removing just tiny little bits. They have a pointed blade on one side and a curved almost spoon like hook on the other.



• Color Shapers. I have color shapers that come in various sizes, shapes, points and firmness’. You an get them at most of the same places as oil pastels. They are good for smoothing rough edges, minor blending and cleaning up the little tags of oil pastel that are on the surface of the painting.

These of course aren’t all of the possible tools you could use. These are just the one I use regularly and consistently. Go experiment and have fun.

A Brief History
Oil pastels are a relatively new medium. They were originally developed in 1921 and later improved in 1927 at the Sakura Crayon Company. The original product was to be a combination of the crayon and the pastel. Thus the name Cray-Pas was born. Cray-Pas are considered a children’s medium as they are made with dyed fillers and have no archival qualities.

In 1949 Henri Sennelier, in collaboration with Pablo Picasso and Henri Goetz, created a new professional grade oil pastel. Picasso is said to have asked for a medium that could work on any surface, such as wood, canvas and metal. Oil pastel offered him the most direct way to work. No brush or instrument interfered between the artist’s gestures and the work.

What Are Oil Pastels?
Oil pastels are small crayon like sticks. They measure about 3″ long and 1/4″ thick They can be square or round, and may or may not come wrapped in paper.

There are three grades of oil pastels.

• Children’s Grade (Cray-Pas)
• Student Grade (Van Gogh)
• Professional Grade (Holbein, Sennelier)

Professional grade oil pastels consist of a pigment mixed with a non-drying inert oil and wax binder. They are non-yellowing and acid free. Oil pastels can be applied to any surface as they have excellent adhesion. They will never harden, so they will never crack and they maintain archival stability.

Protecting the Artwork
Because they never really dry, they must be handled carefully as they can be damaged. Most artists use 1 of 3 methods to protect their completed works.

• Cover with a wax paper.
• Frame under glass. (My personal way of going.)You must be sure to provide an air space between the glass and the painting with the use of matting or spacers.
• Apply a fixative or varnish. This is somewhat controversial. Sennelier makes an oil pastel fixative spray. But I would recommend only using it with Sennelier oil pastels. Personally, I don’t use fixative because Holbein, my main brand, says not too.

The Brands I Use
Most oil pastels vary in coverage and texture. Some are very firm while others are buttery soft. Experiment with a few different types when trying to determine whether oil pastels are a medium for you. All the brands I use are professional grade.

Holbein - my favorite. They are firm have great coverage and color and are wonderful for mark making. They also have an extensive color range.

Caran d’ Ache – This was the first brand I tried and I enjoyed them so much I never looked back. The are slightly softer than the Holbeins with a more limited color range.

Sennelier – Excellent quality oil pastel. They are buttery soft. Because of this I am not a huge fan. However their colors are sumptuous. I do use Senneliers but tend to mix them with the afore mentioned other two.

Note: I recently tried Sakura Specialist They were recently created by Cray-Pas. They are seriously hard and their coverage is a little weak. When I first tried them I was disappointed but I have played with them some since. And have learned to use them in combination with the others effectively. Not my favorite, but that is more about how I prefer to work than a reflection of the pastels.

Where I Get My Oil Pastels.
I usually get whatever open stock (individual pastels) I can at whatever local art supply stores we run across when we are out at an event. Usually Dick Blick. Living in the boonies as we do, this means I can usually only replace the most common brands.

Where To Find Open Stock
www.dickblick.com In most DickBlick stores.
www.dakotapastels.com These guys are great. They carry all the brands in open stock. The only place that I have found so far, that does so.

Where To Find Complete Sets

• www.dickblick.com
• www.cheapjoes.com
• www.jerrysartarama.com

History Reference: www.oilpastelsociety.com