o-s-english

pastelli a olio

MY TECHNIQUE

Traditional oil paint in a more manageable format, to make art in a small work space…

Oil sticks

Oil sticks (or pigment sticks) share some characteristics with oil pastels, but they are not the same thing. They are traditional oil colors, slightly modified in their formulation to achieve a firmer consistency, allowing them to be shaped into cylindrical sticks.

Oil sticks allow you to work with all the typical techniques of oil painting, including glazing. Many artists use them alongside traditional tube oils, either to lay down an initial sketch or, conversely, to add highlights and accents to a more developed painting. I often do this myself, combining them with fluid oil paint or even oil pastels, making sure in that case to use the pastels last, on a dry or nearly dry layer.

Each brand has its own formulation and texture. I mainly use two: Sennelier, which are slightly denser, and R&F, which are my favorite because they’re especially soft—though they do take a bit longer to dry, depending on the pigment.

Oil sticks are made of pure pigment, a drying oil such as linseed or safflower, and a small amount of wax. They can be used on almost any artistic surface—including canvas, paper, or wooden panels— but the substrate must be properly prepared to prevent it from absorbing the oil. This is already one key difference from oil pastels. Another equally important difference is that, like all oil paints, they dry over time. So, the work can be finished with a varnish like that you would use for traditional oil paintings.

Before using an oil stick, you’ll need to remove the film that forms on its surface when it hasn’t been used for a while. After that, oil sticks can be applied directly to the surface like pastels, or used like traditional oil paint—by picking up color with a brush or palette knife directly from the stick, or mixing it on a palette with the help of solvents. It’s crucual to keep them away from high temperatures, or they can be permanently damaged!