#Crush on the Medium Oil Pastel

Oil pastels are such a hit with the kids. They cheer... I mean really cheer when I say we are going to get them out.  They love the bold bright colors and the smooth texture. I have several past posts that I will be sharing with you in this write-up but also this post works as a bit of a tease because I have had my students working with oil pastel in the past couple weeks and have not had a chance to share the lessons quite yet. 

Well, it's still really, really, really cold here in Minnesota. It's only appropriate that I start this post with a snowman. Oil Pastel is a GREAT way to teach shadow and form in Art. Here is a collaborative project featuring form, oil pastel, and snowmen. 

I love this Hockney inspired Landscape lesson. Students are very successful with this project and researching oil pastels reminded me of that.  I have a complete video lesson ready to show the students and it is a perfect project for this time of the year. 

I have two posts on oil pastel transfer prints. One is a lesson on balance. I have done this butterfly lesson with students as young as Kindergarten. Again, full student ready video and lot's of student samples can be found on this previous post about the Butterfly Prints. I also have the same method of transferring oil pastel with a game, an image shown below. I used it for review of shapes and lines but I would imagine you could use the method for countless activities. 

I have used oil pastel for glaze alternatives in the past as well. Students can color onto clay and then use a paint wash on the service that was not covered by pastel and it creates a stunning outcome. There are three different ways I share to use nonglazed finishing for clay. Click here to see all three. 

For my older students, I like to give a little exploration of the materials before asking them to use it on their final project. In this post, I talk about the 7 way I ask my students to experiment with oil pastel. 

The rest of these images are simply ways that I have used oil pastel in the very recent past. I do not have a post for them, but you can count on them being an upcoming post. Sometimes we just need an image anyway for inspiration.  Take a look at these three. 

Bears in a Blanket

Sea Turtles

Albrije