Here's the thing tho Helen, whether they blend or not, the final pieces you get with any oil pastels are so "painterly". I've never worked in traditional oil paint so I love the chance they give you to show your "strokes" in your piece. It gives so much character to a painting. So, I loved your finished piece! Cheers
More than gelli printing, I am tempted by the oil pastels. I remember loving to play with them as a kid (& I have a HUGE investment in soft pastels, but primarily use them plein air because of the dust). Getting good darks is an issue with soft pastels too so that was an interesting point about such a large set of these.
Thanks! Yes, I have a lot and used a couple in this picture. I know they're good, but I struggle with their inconsistent textures, which is why I like the Haiya oil pastels so much.
Your videos always have the sweetest ‘bye’ compared to anyone else’s ☺️ this was relaxing to watch. I’m still scared to get my oil pastels out that I bought recently as I haven’t used them since I was a teenager when I made some real monstrosities 30 years ago
This made me laugh! I always cringe listening back to my videos at my good bye! (And plenty of other bits!) I figure it's what I actually sound like, so it stays! I also love the thought of your monstrosities!! I definitely think you should happily make another monstrosity this week! See - zero pressure to perform now!
i loved watching you blend the oil pastels, but the reason I love your watercolors is the details and the little bits you add at the end. I don't know if you can do that with oil pastels, it sort of feels unfinished this way. Still it's a beautiful picture, thank you for your art!
Yes, I know what you mean. Partly I chose a less detailed style, and though you can definitely do detail with oil pastels, it would have been a bit harder with these Mont Martes than my usual more pigmented ones.
Hi Helen! I remember you asking me when we were exchanging replies about the Montmarte brand, if I was talking about the extra soft, or the signature set.… I mostly use the 48 signature set, but I also had a set of the extra soft natural Colors. This prompted me to get the larger set of the extra soft to do an apples to apples comparison of the signature set. Turns out I liked the signature set better because the colors were more vibrant and the texture was a little firmer. I tend to prefer the extra soft when it comes to the more muted or lighter colors, because those are the ones I end up using in the final layers. The signature set seems to have more saturation but unfortunately only goes as high as 48 colors. So yes, I tend to agree with you about the Montmarte extra soft. And I think oil pastels are so subjective probably more than any other medium because they are texture sensitive. Some people like more opacity some people don’t mind the transparency of certain Brands.… One of the reasons I did not like the Paul Rubin set was because they are extremely greasy. A lot of people compare them to sennelier and I can kind of see that, but that one seemingly subtle difference really bothers me! Also to me the Paul Rubens tends to be very inconsistent between colors. I think, hands-down my favorite are the Neo colors oil pastels :-) I did end up sending the extra softset of 52 colors back. I do feel it is worth trying the different textures to suit the different styles in which people like to use oil pastels :-) wonderful video! ❤️🙏
I really agree that oil pastels texture is such a subjective thing! Neocolors are a little on the hard side for me, and I don't like the inconsistency of the Senneliers - I work quick and want lots of quickly released colour, but no gloop, so the Haiyas as the sweet spot for me.
I tried them years ago with a DR set, just 16 colours I think, but never got on with them. I let my granddaughter use them and they just picked up bits of colour from each other when bumping against each other. They now look a mess. Your painting looks nice though. Temps me to try again, maybe.
I really like this painting! I am wondering if you could use a tissue or blending stump/tortillion to help with the blending of the oil pastels. I have not used oil pastels much myself, just a white or blue soft pastel for glistening highlights for my watercolors when doing seascapes. Thanks for sharing this interesting video of inspiration Helen!
Thanks! The dense foam wedge I try near the beginning is usually perfect for blending oil pastels, but just not these. Possibly other blending materials might work, or possibly on this reasonably large scale they'll always go a bit streaky because of the lower pigment load.
Beautiful painting! Like the contrasts. Do any of your oil pastels have any pigment or lightfast information? I watched your last videos, but I don’t remember exactly what you said about that. I bought a couple of Sennelier pastels, open stock, just to try them out, but I cannot find any pigment information about them, not even on the Sennelier website.
I'm away from home for a couple of weeks, so can't check, sorry, but I don't think any do. There are a few useful articles on the internet though, including this one: www.shyeomans.co.uk/oilpastel.html
The Sennelier Oil Sticks are also quite oil pastel-like, and they dry faster than the R&F ones. They're cheaper anyway, but Sennelier do some lovely mini stick selection packs in really nice colours, that might give you a nice taster.
Thank you! Oil pastels are a great challenge for me. Always good to see someone else work either them. 💗
Thanks!
Here's the thing tho Helen, whether they blend or not, the final pieces you get with any oil pastels are so "painterly". I've never worked in traditional oil paint so I love the chance they give you to show your "strokes" in your piece. It gives so much character to a painting. So, I loved your finished piece! Cheers
Yes, I found in this one that once I abandoned trying to blend, it was great fun just chucking down the colour!
I love the colours especially the sea,great to see one of your sketches come to life.🫶🏻
Thanks!
The sea colours are beautiful
Yes, the set really includes some gorgeous colours.
Thank you for the review & comparison. It’s helpful and I think the piece turned out pretty nice.
Thanks!
I think it turned out great. I guess I'm going to have to get mine out here soon as it looks like you were having a great time.
YES!!! Definitely do it!!
I really like the idea of drawing/painting from your colour-note sketch and using that as reference instead of a photo - going to have to try that!
It's one way of simplifying anyway!
Beautiful
Thank you!
I like it-very nice-love the look of oil pastels-Haiya’s are my fave too
Thank you!
Hi Helen, today Andrew Barrowman used his oil pastels in a sketch…so lovely to watch.
I think you did a lovely job and it turned out beautifully. X
Thank you!
More than gelli printing, I am tempted by the oil pastels. I remember loving to play with them as a kid (& I have a HUGE investment in soft pastels, but primarily use them plein air because of the dust). Getting good darks is an issue with soft pastels too so that was an interesting point about such a large set of these.
I like the idea of using soft pastels outside, thanks!
Beautiful colour palette Helen. Have you tried out Sennelier oil pastels? - incerdibly creamy and so highly pigmented
Thanks! Yes, I have a lot and used a couple in this picture. I know they're good, but I struggle with their inconsistent textures, which is why I like the Haiya oil pastels so much.
Your videos always have the sweetest ‘bye’ compared to anyone else’s ☺️ this was relaxing to watch. I’m still scared to get my oil pastels out that I bought recently as I haven’t used them since I was a teenager when I made some real monstrosities 30 years ago
This made me laugh! I always cringe listening back to my videos at my good bye! (And plenty of other bits!) I figure it's what I actually sound like, so it stays! I also love the thought of your monstrosities!! I definitely think you should happily make another monstrosity this week! See - zero pressure to perform now!
i loved watching you blend the oil pastels, but the reason I love your watercolors is the details and the little bits you add at the end. I don't know if you can do that with oil pastels, it sort of feels unfinished this way. Still it's a beautiful picture, thank you for your art!
Yes, I know what you mean. Partly I chose a less detailed style, and though you can definitely do detail with oil pastels, it would have been a bit harder with these Mont Martes than my usual more pigmented ones.
Hi Helen! I remember you asking me when we were exchanging replies about the Montmarte brand, if I was talking about the extra soft, or the signature set.… I mostly use the 48 signature set, but I also had a set of the extra soft natural Colors. This prompted me to get the larger set of the extra soft to do an apples to apples comparison of the signature set. Turns out I liked the signature set better because the colors were more vibrant and the texture was a little firmer. I tend to prefer the extra soft when it comes to the more muted or lighter colors, because those are the ones I end up using in the final layers. The signature set seems to have more saturation but unfortunately only goes as high as 48 colors. So yes, I tend to agree with you about the Montmarte extra soft. And I think oil pastels are so subjective probably more than any other medium because they are texture sensitive. Some people like more opacity some people don’t mind the transparency of certain Brands.… One of the reasons I did not like the Paul Rubin set was because they are extremely greasy. A lot of people compare them to sennelier and I can kind of see that, but that one seemingly subtle difference really bothers me! Also to me the Paul Rubens tends to be very inconsistent between colors. I think, hands-down my favorite are the Neo colors oil pastels :-) I did end up sending the extra softset of 52 colors back. I do feel it is worth trying the different textures to suit the different styles in which people like to use oil pastels :-) wonderful video!
❤️🙏
I really agree that oil pastels texture is such a subjective thing! Neocolors are a little on the hard side for me, and I don't like the inconsistency of the Senneliers - I work quick and want lots of quickly released colour, but no gloop, so the Haiyas as the sweet spot for me.
@@helencryer👩🎨😉
I tried them years ago with a DR set, just 16 colours I think, but never got on with them. I let my granddaughter use them and they just picked up bits of colour from each other when bumping against each other. They now look a mess.
Your painting looks nice though. Temps me to try again, maybe.
I definitely think there's some value in them - give them a go!
I really like this painting! I am wondering if you could use a tissue or blending stump/tortillion to help with the blending of the oil pastels. I have not used oil pastels much myself, just a white or blue soft pastel for glistening highlights for my watercolors when doing seascapes. Thanks for sharing this interesting video of inspiration Helen!
Thanks! The dense foam wedge I try near the beginning is usually perfect for blending oil pastels, but just not these. Possibly other blending materials might work, or possibly on this reasonably large scale they'll always go a bit streaky because of the lower pigment load.
Beautiful painting! Like the contrasts. Do any of your oil pastels have any pigment or lightfast information? I watched your last videos, but I don’t remember exactly what you said about that. I bought a couple of Sennelier pastels, open stock, just to try them out, but I cannot find any pigment information about them, not even on the Sennelier website.
I'm away from home for a couple of weeks, so can't check, sorry, but I don't think any do.
There are a few useful articles on the internet though, including this one:
www.shyeomans.co.uk/oilpastel.html
@@helencryer Thanks!! Maybe I should look more into the oil sticks. But they are so much more expensive. 🤔 😊
The Sennelier Oil Sticks are also quite oil pastel-like, and they dry faster than the R&F ones. They're cheaper anyway, but Sennelier do some lovely mini stick selection packs in really nice colours, that might give you a nice taster.
You sound like Fergie
😂