Oil Pastel: Materials and Techniques for Today's Artist

This is the best book on using oil pastels. It gives instructions on blending, scraping and other techniques. There is a great explanation of supports for oil pastels. I have read several books s on this topic and this is the best

If you want to expand your abilities in using oil pastels - and creating art, this book provides a complete overview. It's written by an art teacher and reads like it could be a "textbook" for one of his classes. It provides a short history of oil pastels, techniques in using them, examples of artwork by several different artists showing those techniques, the best types of paper and media to use. He also evaluates using different brands of oil pastels, their light-fastness, and even how to make your own (not an easy process - only for those who are intrepid). Archival framing and preservation of oil pastel artworks is also included, as well as framing, using fixatives, etc. This is not an art book for beginning artists - it does not provide the basic "how to" information, and could easily become overwhelming for beginners. It is for amateur and intermediate artists, and beyond; those who have been creating art and who want to expand their knowledge. And, of course, it is for those who are interested in using oil pastels as their main art medium - one of very few books that focuses solely on oil pastels. I've recently come back to creating art again, and have always loved working with oil pastels. This book is informative and inspirational.

This book has taught me so much! I began reading it as basically a primer to get me ready to explore oil pastel and I've learned so much I didn't even know there was to learn about the medium. From oil pastel brands and their unique qualities, tools and techniques, and various surfaces on which to draw, this book has it all. Each section is fairly short but still packs plenty of information, presented in a way that's easy to grasp.Another unique trait of this book is its embrace of mistakes. So often these types of books have a sense of unachievable perfection in their lessons and examples. Ken Leslie, however, shows examples of errors he's made in his own works and how to handle them when they inevitably occur. It sounds like a small thing, but it makes the medium less daunting knowing that you have the freedom to make mistakes and still attain success.Whether you're new to oil pastel, or want to learn more about them, I'd absolutely recommend this book.The reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 is because it seems to gloss over some of the basic fundamentals of applying pastel. Also, some of the information appears a little dated. An updated edition to account for things like developments in materials would maybe prove beneficial.

I have a sort of love-hate with oil pastels. So a book with techniques would be really helpful and this book IS helpful.You get the various techniques like layering under an ink cover and scratching out your design, dark paper, light paper, handmade textured paper (that was interesting; a pebbled surface takes away fine detail and leaves color and form.) The techniques that look like oil--for oil pastels are sort of oil-paint light and the techniques that look like chalk pastel. You can use them for monoprinting on glass or metal or on linoleum blocks. You can dissolve them with turpentine or odorless paint thinner.Oil pastels were developed further at the request of artists like Picasso and Matisse and far from being kiddy crayons, in the right hands they can be very effective. There is a wide variation in their character: Caran D'ache are neon-bright, Sennelier are creamy buttery soft and others are firmer (Van Gogh, for example. ) If you have a set and are puzzled on how better to use them in your art, this book is good for instruction but more so, for example and inspiration.

Much of the Kindle book is too blurry to read and there are no demonstrations of steps in painting a picture.

I love the book. It is much more than a step by step tutorial, which you can find on plenty of youtube videos or online tutorials. This book is a masterpiece as it teaches you the fundamentals that enable you to further explore the oil pastel medium. 2 months ago I had not made a single art piece and everyone including me could say that I suck at art. But today I can make art pieces with not only oil pastel but also water color and I love the way they come out. Most importantly, knowing the fundamentals allowed me to dabble into watercolors as well and I could quickly pick up.I will highly recommend the book to anyone interested in oil pastels. Also, I will recommend picking up different brands of oil pastels as they all have different texture and properties. You will appreciate the book more as you can experiment the different types of oil pastels. Also trying on different types of paper has different experience.

After reading the reviews, I really was in doubt. "Purposedly childish paintings" was not what I wanted. On the other hand, a lot of great oil pastelists praised the book and said it was super useful. Now, after reading the book, I can agree that it's totally worth the purchase. There are lots of paintings of all kinds. Yes, many of them are not my style, but the author gives interesting descriptions of all of them making you pay attention to some nuances. Some of the paintings are fantastic. The book is delight to eyes, big format and many paintings have details closeups.And the book itself is in-depth, the author gives plenty of useful details and experienced advice on oil pastels usage. The book is packed with them actually.Some chapters like subject of the painting or color wheel might contains lots of info you already know, but personally I found it a pleasure to read about it because all the examples were in oil pastels. Marvellous book, highly recommended!

When I purchased a "new" book, I imagined I'd be getting an original. Instead, this is only a fair reproduction, photocopied pages newly bound. Still, the content is excellent.

Great book. Info on technique as well as making your own oil pastels

Nessun esercizio, nessuno step by step, pochissimi consigli su come utilizzare questo medium, le foto con le didascalie sono sfocate e difficilmente leggibili, nessuna istruzione sulla miscelazione per ottenere le varie tonalità... gli argomenti trattati sono praticamente gli stessi di qualsiasi libro di pittura con qualsiasi medium. Praticamente spiega quali tecniche si possono usare, ma senza approfondirle e senza esercizi pratici.

I was rather disappointed with the book after reading all the good reviews. The information about the oil pastels techniques seems complete but only... in each title. The concrete info is extremely short and not developed further. The quality of print is really very bad, especially if taking in account the price of the book which is not the lowest. The positive side of the book is the big gallery of finished works of different authors, not only author's, however again, the print quality is not the best.

I bought the Kindle version but after seeing the quality I immediately asked for a refund. The pictures of the artworks in it are blurry and the info or explanations of techniques next to the pictures are unreadable. Even on the big screen of my iPad Pro.

Achei o livro fraco, com pouca instrução e com um problema grave: as folhas são em um papel tipo papel manteiga, de maneira que o texto impresso de um lado aparece no verso. Se tivesse folheado o livro, não o teria comprado. Infelizmente, não há muitas opções de livros sobre giz pastel oleoso.