How to create a landscape drawing with oil pastel 

Oil pastels are a medium that have always reminded me of an elementary school art class. When I think of the art made with oil pastels, I think unblended, chunky, or even juvenile, but this simply isn’t so! Oil pastels can have a nice creamy texture and will blend beautifully to create lovely works of art! If you want to give these pastels a second chance, I’d highly recommend it. I especially love using them for landscapes or drawings with organic subject matter. Here is a little tutorial  on how to crest your own beautiful oil pastel landscape.

First, you need to grab some oil pastel and oil pastel paper. Paul Rubens oil pastels are pretty good quality, but my true favorite is Sennelier oil pastels. If you’ve worked with soft pastels, try to think about oil pastels as an entirely different medium. They aren’t chalky at all so you’ll need to understand a few different oil pastel techniques. 

Oil pastels are very pigments and buttery soft like you’re drawing with a lipstick. They are very blendable as well as buildable. That being said, there are a few tricks you need to know to really elevate your drawing. To get a thin layer of color, blend oil pastels on your paper using baby oil and a paintbrush or chamois. This will smooth out the texture and give you a background like smooth oil paint. Add a bit of texture last as your finishing touches.  When adding highlights, I like to use a light color in my final steps so it doesn’t get muddied.

Now that we’ve covered a few basics on oil pastels, let’s get into the landscape drawing! Feel free to work with a reference photo, if you have one, or get creative and work from your mind’s eye! Start off by laying down your middle ground. These are tones that aren’t too dark or too light.  

Sketch out your landscape elements and blend those mid tones without over saturating your pastel paper. I used an olive green for the prairie.  Typically, I like to use a light pink and a light blue for a sunset sky. 

Next, go in with your dark colors. I added dark green blacks around the tree line and darker blue for my clouds. Blend to your hearts content, adding bits of texture where you want. Add your fine details and highlights last as well as any textures. There there you have it! 

Oil pastels don’t have to be a medium to fear or leave behind in elementary school! They are a quick and fun way to create beautiful, sketchy landscapes full of texture!