This is not an oil pastel drawing

Many people, including you reading this blog post, have stuck to the idea that oil pastels are just a tool for kids.

And they’re not entirely wrong: we all probably used Crayola oil pastels as children! Who hasn’t heard their teacher tell the whole class: “ok, now we’re going to draw with pastels”? The truth is that the Crayola brand makes crayons and oil pastels

Many thanks to THE SCHOOL!

So yes, a drawing is done on paper, with a pencil… Wait a minute!

I’ve just opened Pandora’s box.

I’m French and what you English speakers call a “crayon” we call it in France “pastel”.

For a French person, when we say “crayon” it’s what you call a “pencil”.

I’m closing Pandora’s box.

So yes, you can draw on paper with a PENCIL, you can paint on paper, you can draw on canvas, and you can paint on canvas. If we take this line to demonstrate what painting or drawing is, we’ll never get an answer.

Let’s see what the art world has to say,

Painting is the practice of applying paint or other media to a surface, usually with a brush
TATE – https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/p/painting

painting, the expression of ideas and emotions, with the creation of certain aesthetic qualities, in a two-dimensional visual language. The elements of this language—its shapes, lines, colours, tones, and textures—are used in various ways to produce sensations of volume, space, movement, and light on a flat surface.
Britannica – https://www.britannica.com/art/painting

A work of art made from paint applied to canvas, wood, paper, or another support.
MoMA – https://www.moma.org/collection/terms/painting

So what’s my technique called? Maybe it’s neither oil pastel drawing nor oil pastel painting, but rather oil pastel art. I don’t want to offend anyone by saying that, and it suits me fine.

Now we just have to convince the top google search, but oil pastel art is in second place!