About oil pastels on canvas bis

I tried it, I didn’t like it.

I paint with oil pastels, using many layers of pastel. I like to give my work relief, I almost do impasto. It’s a technique I’ve always liked, my eye is drawn to the texture that overflows, which is no doubt linked to my passion for film photography and the coarse grain I like in photos once developed.

When you paint with oil pastels and want to hang your work on the wall, you have to buy a frame. This is expensive, and my aim is to limit my expenses on materials as much as possible.

However, for some of my works, I’d like them to live in the open air with varnish, and not depend on a glass frame.

So!

Why not paint on canvas?

I bought a canvas to try out oil pastels. I usually paint on Arches watercolor paper, which is expensive but the best paper.

In my quest to perfect my art, I wanted to move on to another medium with the idea of being able to roll up my works, a logistical issue firstly, as I don’t live in my art studio, and also to leave the collector the choice of framing or not.

What a disappointment, oil pastels don’t cling to canvas, and the multiple layers of oil pastels don’t add up. On the contrary, they cancel each other out.

When I choose another color to apply, it erases the previous one, making everything slippery.

I don’t recommend painting on canvas with oil pastels if, like me, you work in layers of pastel, but if you’re efficient and satisfied using the chosen pastel stick directly, then go go go!

In the meantime, I’m going back to work on my watercolor paper.

It’s always worth testing, even if it’s expensive.