studio exploration #1

OIL PASTELS

As seen above, I selected three oil pastel brands to compare: Pentel, Portfolio Series, and Winsor & Newton. I must admit that I am not very experienced with oil pastels, but that is part of what made this exploration interesting for me. Since I am still learning how the material behaves, I wanted to focus on a few basic techniques that would help me compare the brands more clearly. I decided to use four types of mark-making: simple marks, solid areas of color, hatching, and an ombré blend. These tests helped me notice differences in pigment, texture, softness, blending, and control, while also giving me a better sense of how each brand might work for different age groups and classroom situations.

COLOR, pigment, and blendability

Winsor & Newton:Winsor & Newton had the strongest pigment out of the three brands. The pastels were extremely creamy, rich in color, and very easy to blend. They also produced the most noticeable impasto effect, since the pastel itself felt thicker and built up more heavily on the surface of the paper.

Portfolio Series:The Portfolio Series pastels were also very smooth and easy to blend, but they were less thick than Winsor & Newton. They felt noticeably more oily, which sometimes caused the color to appear slightly translucent or streaky in certain areas. Even so, the colors were still rich, and I liked how easily they blended together.

Pentel:Pentel oil pastels came in a thinner stick that felt more similar to using a crayon. They were still creamy, but the colors were slightly less rich than the other two brands. They also created significantly less impasto compared to Winsor & Newton. I found them a little less effective for blending, although they still blended fairly well. Overall, they felt more solid and less oily than the Portfolio Series.

Price Comparison

Pentel: In terms of price, it is the most affordable of the three brands, which makes it especially practical for classroom use. Pentel oil pastel sets are sold as student-grade materials and can start at only a few dollars depending on the set size.

Portfolio Series: Falls more in the middle. Crayola describes the Portfolio line as offering professional-style quality without professional-level prices, so it is still designed to be accessible for students while providing more specialized features such as water solubility.

Winsor & Newton: The more premium option of the three, and I would consider it less practical for buying in large classroom quantities, especially compared with Pentel. Overall, Pentel would likely be the best budget choice for a full class, Portfolio Series would be a good middle-ground option, and Winsor & Newton would make more sense when higher material quality is the priority.

Toxicity and Safety

All three brands are appropriate to consider for classroom use, but I would still check the exact packaging before giving them to students. Winsor & Newton oil pastels carry the ACMI AP (Approved Product) seal and conform to ASTM D-4236, meaning they have been evaluated for acute and chronic health hazards and are considered non-hazardous when used as intended. Pentel oil pastels are also ACMI-certified non-toxic, and Pentel specifically markets them as safe for users of all ages. Portfolio Series oil pastels are labeled safe and non-toxic by Crayola and are recommended for children ages four and older. Even though these materials are considered non-toxic, I would still remind students not to put the pastels in their mouths, to wash their hands after use, and to follow normal art-room cleanup procedures.

   

AGE APPROPRIATENESS

Pentel: For younger elementary students, I think Pentel would be the most appropriate, especially around 2nd–4th grade. The thinner, crayon-like shape makes it easier to hold and control, and because it is less oily and less soft than the other two brands, it may also be easier for younger students to manage without creating as much mess.

Portfolio Series: Portfolio Series would work well for around 4th–6th grade because students at that age could take better advantage of its smooth blending and water-soluble qualities. Since it is more oily and can become streaky or translucent, it may require a little more control and experimentation.

Winsor & Newton: Winsor & Newton would be best suited for middle school and up, especially for students who are ready to explore more advanced techniques like heavy layering, impasto, and rich color blending. Because it is softer, thicker, and more heavily pigmented, it gives students more artistic possibilities, but it may also be harder for younger students to control and would be more expensive to use in large classroom quantities.

(Example: Sardine drawing I made for this post)

Messiness and Classroom Cleanup

One interesting difference I noticed was that the richness and softness of the pastels seemed to relate to how messy they were to use. Winsor & Newton was by far the messiest, but I think this was partly because it was also the creamiest, thickest, and most heavily pigmented. The pastel transferred easily onto my fingers and surrounding areas while blending. Portfolio Series fell somewhere in the middle; its oily texture made it easy to smear, although it did not create quite as much thick residue as Winsor & Newton. Pentel was the least messy of the three. Its firmer, thinner stick gave me more control and transferred less material onto my hands. This would be an important consideration in a classroom, especially with younger students, since Pentel would likely require less cleanup while Winsor & Newton might need table coverings, wipes, and more careful handling.

Strengths and Limitations

Each brand had its own strengths and weaknesses.

Winsor & Newton had the richest color, was the easiest to blend, and created the thickest texture. I liked how painterly it felt, but it was also the messiest and would probably take more cleanup in a classroom.

Portfolio Series was also smooth and easy to blend. I liked that the color was still rich, and the water-soluble quality gives students more ways to experiment. However, it felt more oily, and some areas looked a little streaky or transparent.

Pentel was the easiest to control and the least messy. The thinner stick also made it feel more like a crayon, which could be easier for younger students. The downside is that the color was not quite as rich, and it did not build up as much texture as Winsor & Newton.

Oil pastels are really versatile because they can be used for both drawing and more painterly effects. They work well for blending, layering, color mixing, and building up texture, and they can create very rich color without needing water or another medium. They are also pretty immediate and easy to use, since students can start working with them right away without much setup. Another strength is that they can create a wide range of marks, from thin lines to thick areas of color, so they can work for both detailed and expressive projects.

One of the biggest limitations of oil pastels is that they can get messy very quickly, especially when students are blending with their fingers or using softer brands. They can also smudge easily and transfer onto hands, tables, and other artwork. Fine details can be harder to achieve, especially with thicker sticks, and it can be difficult to completely cover or correct an area once a lot of pastel has been built up. They can also be harder to store and display because the surface may stay slightly tacky or smudge if it is not protected. In a classroom, this means the teacher would need to plan for cleanup, storage, and possibly extra protection for finished work.

Classroom Resources and Logistics

For all three brands, I would want sturdy paper, paper towels or wipes, table coverings, and trays or containers to keep the pastels organized. Winsor & Newton would probably need the most cleanup because it transfers easily onto hands and surfaces. Portfolio Series would also need wipes and table protection, and if students use water with it, I would also need brushes, water cups, and a place for work to dry. Pentel would probably be the easiest to manage in a classroom because it is firmer and less messy.

Comfort Level

My comfort level with teaching oil pastels is currently a little below average. I tend to want to really understand and master a material before I feel fully confident teaching it to someone else, and this month marks only the second time in my life that I have worked with oil pastels. This exploration definitely helped me become more familiar with how different brands behave, especially when it comes to blending, layering, texture, and control. However, I still feel like I need more personal practice and experimentation before I would consider myself completely comfortable teaching more advanced oil pastel techniques. I would feel confident introducing the basics to students, but I would want to continue experimenting with the medium myself first.

(Another example work. It uses a combination of oil pastels and colored pencils.)

Reflection

This exploration helped me understand how much the quality of the oil pastel affects the final result, especially when it comes to color intensity, blending, and layering. If I continued working with this medium, I would want to look for oil pastels with really bright, highly pigmented colors because I think that would help me create stronger reflections and highlights on darker objects. I would also love to try making a portrait with oil pastels and work on a much larger scale. I think working bigger would give me more room to see how much detail I can actually achieve with the medium and would push me to experiment more with blending, layering, and smaller areas of color.