SENNELIER OIL PASTELS
" The Sennelier oil pastels possess an extraordinarily high pigment content, thus providing them with a high colouring and covering potential, excellent brightness and a high degree of light stability "
Sennelier oil pastel - A soft and creamy crayon
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The Sennelier (pronounced Sen-el-EE-A) oil pastel is creamy, with an extraordinarily high pigment content, providing vivid colour and excellent covering potential and brilliance, with a high degree of light stability.
Oil pastels are comprised of pigment in a non-drying binder of oil and wax, which is formed into a compact stick. Like soft (dry) pastels, alternative brands offer diverse combinations of binder, oil and wax, which make them soft or hard. The Sennelier Oil Pastels use the same high quality pigments and high pigment loads as their other lines, combined with a pure, synthetic binding medium and mineral wax. Artists who became customers of the Sennelier oil pastel include names like Cézanne, Gauguin and Picasso. In this article, we explore the possibilities of this compelling brand and the rich history of the company. We discuss best practices, delve into lightfast properties and provide recommendations on effective accessories. Finally, we share the feedback of other users and our own thoughts on this product. Even if you have never used oil pastels before, this article may inspire you to give them a go. We also provide free tutorials for oil pastel artists too. Feel free to share this article. Let's dive in! |
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FURTHER INFORMATION
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CHARACTERISTICS
Base: oil & WaxVertical Divider
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Hard or soft: SoftVertical Divider
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Lightfast rating: ASTM D-6901Vertical Divider
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Costs: RRP £2.45 (ave)Vertical Divider
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No. of colours: 120 |
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ADVANTAGES
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DISADVANTAGES
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hints and tips for working with oil pastels
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suitable supports:
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WHAT CAN THESE PASTELS ACHIEVE?
The 'Sycamore Gap' in Northumberland, UK - Oil pastels on Fisher400
Oil pastels are solid sticks of pigment and binding material, which produce bold and vibrant applications. Oil pastels can accomplish painterly looking works of art in less time than some other mediums. They can be also be easily manipulated with tools, allowing you to create highly detailed work too.
During the creation of this 'Sycamore Gap' painting, colours were applied rather haphazardly by laying colour on colour. When using a highly abrasive paper like this, it is always better to build the layers before you try to blend. Trying to push the pigment around a gritty surface like the Fisher400, can be rather challenging. You can use your fingers to blend, but a paper stump is the better option.
During the creation of this 'Sycamore Gap' painting, colours were applied rather haphazardly by laying colour on colour. When using a highly abrasive paper like this, it is always better to build the layers before you try to blend. Trying to push the pigment around a gritty surface like the Fisher400, can be rather challenging. You can use your fingers to blend, but a paper stump is the better option.
The Sycamore Gap in Northumberland, UK
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The texture from the tooth of your paper can add extra character
Sennelier oil pastel produce thick layers
Many pigments are opaque and application is quick and easy
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For this Pink Flamingo subject, student grade pastels were used in the initial layers, then followed up with the Sennelier pastels. The vast majority of Sennelier colours are opaque, allowing for superb saturation with little effort. This also makes them easier to manipulate with blending tools, and create the fine detail using an embossing tool. You can also use a craft knife, details of which cane be seen in the photos below. This was the very first oil pastel drawing we produced, purely to test the oil pastels that we had recently purchased, and introducing certain accessories allowed us to test how easy it is to manipulate the medium, especially for those artists who like the challenge of creating detailed art like us.
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Blending with a paper blending stump.
Inscribing fine detail using a craft knife.
Sennelier oil pastels mix easily with other oil pastel brands.
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BLENDIBILITYThese pastels are extremely soft. Firm enough not to disintegrate wherever you apply pressure, whilst being soft enough to spread smoothly over most surfaces, even those with a highly abrasive tooth, like the one seen in this photo.
The paper used here is the Fisher400 brand. If you have never heard of it, it is very similar to the UArt sanded papers. It's coarse surface is not suited to finger blending, as it can snag skin. We mention this, as the oil pastels glide on so well, that it blends wonderfully into the surface of the paper, and leaves behind a exceptionally smooth finish, as magnified in our photo. Firmer oil pastels can leave behind rough edges, so transitions do not appear as smooth. That said, the Sennelier oil pastels are not suited to achieving fine detail, due to their softness, so it is always recommended that you have other oil pastel brands in your collection. |
SENNELIER HISTORY
In 1887, Gustave Sennelier, A devoted chemist, established himself as a purveyor of fine-artists' paints at 3 Quai Voltaire, facing the Louvre and steps away from L’ecole Des Beaux-arts.
Having thoroughly researched the history and usage of pigments, he developed a distinctive process for manufacturing oil colours, formulating precise methods for mixing tones and for controlling their opacity and transparency. His work was so meticulous and his eye for colour so accurate, that artists soon began to regard the sennelier palette as the ultimate standard of quality.
Having thoroughly researched the history and usage of pigments, he developed a distinctive process for manufacturing oil colours, formulating precise methods for mixing tones and for controlling their opacity and transparency. His work was so meticulous and his eye for colour so accurate, that artists soon began to regard the sennelier palette as the ultimate standard of quality.
The Sennelier products are made with respect of traditions since 130 years. The passion of chemistry and colours still guide the descendents of Gustave Sennelier. The traditional workmanship needs very few machines and the recipe are made with tradition and innovation.
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The paintings are a mix of a pigment-bases and binder. Before grinding, it has been mixed together in a uniform way. The quality and the large quantity of the pigments used are the key of an exceptional painting.
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Grinding by hand on a granite slab in 1887, it is still with the same attention that the grinding is made. The mix is grinding for a long time and slowly in order to obtain the finest paste possible.
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In 1949, Parisian painter Henri Goetz approached Henri Sennelier the famous artist materials manufacturer, about creating a wax colour stick for his friend Pablo Picasso. Picasso, a long-time Sennelier customer and a frequent visitor to their store across the street from the Louvre museum, was looking for a medium that could be used freely on a variety of surfaces without fading or cracking. Picasso enjoyed the immediacy of children’s crayons and soft pastels, but wanted to be able to use their freer, gestural qualities on all surfaces, and wanted them to be professional quality and lightfast. Their collaboration produced the incomparable Sennelier Oil Pastels.
Sennelier’s first oil pastels have since been the hallmark and long-time standard of the medium.
USEFUL TOOLS
For Blending
There are many tools that can be used to blend and manipulate oil pastels. Below are just 3 of them.
Silicone blenders - Soft (blue) & Firm (Grey)
Silicone blenders can be used in many types of artistic creations, with oil pastels being one. The blue tips are more pliable, whilst the grey tip are firmer. The varying heads will create diverse impressions in your work, so it may be practical to own both sets.
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Paper blenders
Paper blenders are rolls of paper, tightly packed to imitate a pencil and can be used to blend mediums like pastels. They are so cost effective that they can be bought in large packs of varying widths. Paper tortillions are thinner and smaller, suited to small areas.
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Sennelier pastel brushes
Sennelier sell brushes to blend soft pastels. Paintbrushes can also be used to mix solvent and oil pastel together, to create a more fluid wash of pigment that can be used as a ground in the initial layers or to create a more painterly effect in your portrait.
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For Manipulating
You can achieve fine detail in your pastel work with the use of certain accessories. We discuss three of them below.
Embossing tools (varying tip sizes)
Embossing tools are a hand-held tool with a little metal ball on the end, which come in a variety of sizes. This allows you to lift, scratch out and manipulate the pigment on the surface to create various markings.
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Craft knife
A craft knife is a great tool to slice extremely thinly through the pastel to create very fine detail. It will lift the pastel, so we do suggest you keep the blade clean during the process.
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Palette knife
Some artists use palette knives to break down their pastels into a more malleable form and apply to a canvas with a palette knife. Heating your palette knife first will help to soften the pastel. Encaustic irons can also be used to soften pastels.
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Other articles that may be of interest
Oil pastels | A Beginners guide (article to follow)
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Gallery oil pastels - An affordable option - Article to follow
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Caran d'Ache Neopastels - Article to follow
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Try our oil pastel tutorials
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LIGHTFAST INFORMATION AND COLOUR PALETTE
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The Oil Pastel range includes 110 classic colours and 10 iridescent colours. These pastels are available in 3 sizes: standard, large and giant. Large size pastels, used for working on large areas, are also available in classic and iridescent shades. Standard Oil pastel (Ø = 3/8 length = 2 1/2")
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At the end of the 19th century, when he developed oil colours for his artist customers who would include immortal names like Cézanne, Gauguin and Picasso, Gustave Sennelier recognized the need for producing paints that only contained the highest quality pigments. In order to craft superior colours, Gustave verified that the origins of the pigments were from selected traditional sources, while precisely identifying their specific chemical characteristics. Ultimately, his great respect for these materials not only insured the permanence of works created with his paints, but also assured the production of an increasing array of unique colours of unsurpassed beauty and quality. Since then, some pigments have disappeared, their natural resources depleted and others have been restricted due to their toxicity. But with recent innovations and research Sennelier offers a wide variety of synthetic pigments that perfectly match the performance of such ancient mineral pigments such as Lapis Lazuli and Cinnabar.Yet at the same time Sennelier still mines the earth for minerals and other natural elements from traditional sources - pigments like clays and iron oxides used in ochres and the preparation of burnt earth colours from calcified soil.
Today, Sennelier still keeps a watchful eye on the pigments selected for its lines of artists' quality oils, oil sticks, watercolours, soft pastels and oil pastels. These very same pigments are available to artists wishing to master the preparation of their own colours.
Today, Sennelier still keeps a watchful eye on the pigments selected for its lines of artists' quality oils, oil sticks, watercolours, soft pastels and oil pastels. These very same pigments are available to artists wishing to master the preparation of their own colours.
click here to view the full colour palette
Please note: This colour set is for show only. We do not sell art products.
In the UK and looking to purchase the large size? Visit www.pegasusart.co.uk
Beyond these classic hues a selection of unique shades is available, and in particular a graduation of 10 greys, required for a balanced palette. This evolution is the fruit of a long-standing collaboration with European and North American painters, who have worked with Sennelier in developing an exceptional palette of shades. Originally available in a palette of 48 classic hues, the colour selection was expanded twice; in 1975 with the addition of 5 metallic hues, and again in 1980, when 16 iridescent and 6 fluorescent hues were created.
The Sennelier oil pastels possess an extraordinarily high pigment content, thus providing them with a high colouring and covering potential, excellent brightness and a high degree of light stability (with the exception of metallic and fluorescent shades).
OPACITY: The Sennelier oil pastel comes in three levels of opacity: Transparent(T), Semi-opaque(SO) and Opaque(O). The transparency or opacity of oil pastels is contingent upon the kind of pigment utilised. Transparent pigments lend a brighter and more vivid appearance, while opaque pigments appear less transparent. The pigment brand and the paint application's thicknessare additional factors impacting transparency or opacity. This information has been provided to assist you in acquiring the necessary knowledge for achieving an optimal level of pigment application, thereby enhancing coverage and ensuring the longevity of your art.
CARING FOR YOUR OIL PASTELS
- Wipe excess colour off the tip before, during or after use. This avoids contamination.
- If using exposed oil pastels, ensure you clean your hands between colour changes to avoid transferring pigment to another colour stick.
- Keep them in a cool place. Sennelier oil pastels are soft and heat will soften them further, including the periods you hold them in your hands.
- An oil pastel is greasy and the protective cover may slip off during use. There are small tears along the length of this cover which allows you to tear off a piece, exposing a longer point, which may eliminate the cover getting in the way during use.
- Oil pastel paintings never dry and your art should always be protected with a sheet of glassine paper to avoid accidental smudges.
DESIGN AND PACKAGING
Oil pastels are the ideal medium for artists on the go. They contain no solvents or liquid oils like tubed paints. The open stock of both traditional sized sticks and Grande sticks boasts 120 vibrant colors, including iridescents and metallics.). Sennelier also produces selective sets that offer both assorted colour range sets for broader work, and specific ranges dedicated to landscape, still life and portrait colors, both in sturdy cardboard and wood box sets.
Sets available:
PRODUCTS AND ACCESSORIES
The Sennelier oil pastel range also has products that compliment. These include the transparent medium, the spray fixative and the pad, which is ideal for use with oil pastels. Find out more about each product below.
transparent mediumMade from the same formulation as the oil pastels, minus the pigment. This medium allows you to blend pastels without any colour change.
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oil pastel fixativeTotally transparent fixative made from a vinyl-resin and alcohol base. Leaves a clear and silk-like film. Protects the Oil Pastels
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oil pastel padSpiral bound pads that feature 12 sheets of 160 lb acid-free paper. Designed specifically to be used with Sennelier Oil Pastels.
Available in sizes: 9.5cm x 12.5cm and 11.75cm x 15.75cm pads. |
CUSTOMER FEEDBACK
Here we try to provide a balanced critique of the Sennelier oil pastels, however we found it rather difficult finding any negative comments about them, so we have grabbed a handful of comments that attempt to convey a good variety of opinions.
Positive
" These being artist quality, are in all earnest, beautiful to use. They have no smell, are so soft that when I wipe them clean between my fingertips they seem to melt (and indeed do at higher temps), and light strokes are so pigmented, the colour stretches. They are so, so, so easy to blend - with finger, stump and yes, solvent. They layer easily, and being oil pastels you can't be mean with your touch, but several layers only add such depth, form and rich colour. I would say they're softer than lipstick. "
" The quality of the medium was superb. I prefer to use oil pastels to add final touches to my traditional oil paintings and this can be a huge time saver. Oil pastels are also easy to transport when painting plein air! "
" It's no surprise to anyone who knows a bit about oil pastels that Sennelier oil pastels are top quality and purchasing them will never be a mistake. The only off putting factor is the price. Still, I can say that having used many of the other brands, usually the more affordable quality brands like Van Gogh and Mungyo , there is really no comparison between these and the sennelier pastels. They are wonderful to work with. As I had used them before I opted for the still life range this time and the price was not excessive here. I was initially disappointed when I saw an absence of pastel tones but working with these subtle colors is throwing up wonderful surprises. Definately to be recommended. "
" So creamy and soft and great colours. A real joy to use. More expensive than others - but here you definitely get what you pay for. "
Negative/Neutral
" If you are looking for a clean drawing medium this is not it. When working with these pastels, your hands become oily and sticky. If this is okay with you, then this brand of pastels are very fun to use because the colors blend together very easily when smearing with your hands. "
" These are nice enough, but I usually prefer to use other brands. They aren't bad, and I like the colours. What I don't really like is the "stickiness" and that they smell a little bit. "
" The pigment in these pastels are amazing, but they are too soft and basically just mush into the paper, or break with the least pressure. I want to love them because the color is so beautiful, but struggle with it's fragile nature, it is softer than lipstick. "
Our personal thoughts
A mistake made with oil pastels is that you buy a cheap box, to trial the medium. The pigments are translucent, they don't mix or blend particularly well and you end up pushing the box to the back of the cupboard, never to be seen again. The medium in question is a no-no and oil pastels are looked upon as something you only really use in school. The mistake, as with most mediums, is that you buy a cheap product and conclude that this medium is not worth the time exploring further. Buy a few colours from this pastel range, try them on a paper like Pastelmat, relax, have fun. Try one of our tutorials.
Oil pastels are fast becoming one of our favourite mediums.
Oil pastels are fast becoming one of our favourite mediums.
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Health & Safety informationProducts displaying the Approved Product “AP” seal or just the statement ‘Conforms to ASTM D 4236’ are certified in a program of toxicological evaluation by a medical expert to contain no material in sufficient quantities to be toxic or injurious to humans, including children, or to cause acute or chronic health problems.
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