Oil Pastel Portrait

Oil pastels are not the traditional "go-to" material when it comes to portraiture, but many interesting effects can be achieved with them. The fact that is a drawing (and not painting) material also makes it easier for those not experienced with acrylic/oils to apply color in paintings.

Materials - Van Gogh oil pastels mainly for under-painting and Sennelier pastels used on top.

I used a reference photo from the database at wetcanvas website which can be found here.

Reference Photo

After finishing the drawing I followed by applying three coatings of oil pastel fixative from Sennelier. I find this makes all the difference, since oil pastels don't dry and can be smudged easily, the fixative seals the drawing completely.

Final drawing in oil pastels.

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