Let's talk about paper...

[@portgree]

I've tried a few papers as well, and keep going back to Canson XL Mixed Media Paper, even though it isn't very heavy.

[@raizes]

Thats great! Gotta do what you like and what works for you...absolutely!

[@tracyloringart]

Wonderful overview thank you!!!

[@micheleyoung9292]

Such an excellent video! Thank you so much!😊

[@akashmakkar7187]

Pastelmat is IT for me

[@raizes]

Same. It's the best!

[@akashmakkar7187]

@@raizes Your work is awesome. Appreciate all your efforts! I've made pet portraits and a human portrait, and I'm eagerly waiting for some free time to try some landscapes.

[@Anonymoi]

My favorite paper for oil pastels is probably Fabriano Studio Hot Press watercolor paper, which they sell in big pads. The surface is actually very similar to Bristol, somewhere in between Canson’s smooth and vellum Bristol. I use it both without any coating and with a coating of Liquitex clear gesso, which gives it something like a sanded finish.

[@raizes]

Nice! You know I've never tried coating a paper with liquitex gesso and I've heard people using this method. It sounds interesting. I'll have to try this out and see how it works for me. Thanks for watching!

[@CeruleanCzarina]

Thank you so much for this review of papers as this was right on time for me. I mainly create art in watercolor, gouache and colored pencil. However, within the past month, I've started playing with oil pastels again, as I was initially deterred by a bad experience with the Faber-Castell Creative Studio line, which are abysmal. However, I purchased a set of Van Gogh oil pastels and Caran D'ache Neopastel and fell in love, especially with the firmer Van Gogh's which give me more control and have the bonus of pigment and lightfast information. I've been using Strathmore 200 Drawing paper and various watercolor papers from my stash. I am enjoying how the pastels move on the drawing paper when used alone. If I create a watercolor or gouache base layer, I love using them on hot press or smoother cold press papers. Nevertheless, watching this review of the higher-end papers geared to the medium was so informative, and I look forward to trying some of them in the future. Also, if you really like the Strathmore Toned Tan paper, they make a Toned Tan Mixed Media paper which is 184lb (300gsm) paper weight. I recently purchase a pad but haven't tried with the oil pastels though I do love how they feel on the drawing weight version of this paper. If you decide to purchase it, I would love to see your thoughts on that paper as well. I discovered your channel this morning and promptly subscribed. Looking forward to catching up on your content.

[@raizes]

Hi and welcome to the channel. Thanks for watching! Love the van goghs and neopastels also. Can definitely do a lot of the grunt work with the van goghs and finish off with the neopastels. Great setup. I'll have to check out that strathmore toned 184lb paper. Sounds good!

[@valerielynch2042]

Thanks for posting this lesson. I always learn a lot from your videos. Would it help to use PVA Size on paper to prep the paper? I heard a recommendation to do that when painting with oil paint on paper (not made for oil type). I thought it might help with archival quality of the oil pastel on the paper, keeping the oil from seeping through . Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and experience.

[@Anonymoi]

I have actually tried this, just because I had a big bottle of the size for prepping raw canvas. I don’t really like the surface it creates on paper for this application. I think if I wanted to prevent oil seepage I would use matte medium or Liquitex clear gesso (or maybe one of the Golden GAC products, but I have never used those.) I use the clear gesso some of the time, anyway, because it has grit and creates something like a sanded surface. The non-drying oils of oil pastels are supposedly “inert” (I believe that is how Sennelier describes their binder) and won’t cause archival issues but the most oily ones can still create a slight oil halo.

[@valerielynch2042]

@@Anonymoi Thanks for your reply. I'll try both.

[@starr-starr]

Second the use of liquitex clear gesso. It makes even a lightweight paper feel like a sanded paper.

[@jennyb-aeternabitart7436]

​@@starr-starrThanks for this - I will have to try it 😊

[@eBookHoarder]

I use watersoluble oil pastels on watercolor paper. Then, regular oil pastels after the wash dries. I also have used oil pastels on velour. I don't know if velour is archival, but the satisfaction of drawing on it is very worth it.

[@raizes]

I've used that method too a few times. Watersoluble oil pastels, then regular oil pastels on top. It was very effective and nice to use just water to spread out the watersoluble ones out. Easy and effective.

[@jennyb-aeternabitart7436]

​@@raizesWhich watersoluble ones did you use? I looked - and got overwhelmed when reading people's reviews which seemed to vary wildly within each brand... 🙄

[@jennyb-aeternabitart7436]

Interesting! I tried my various pastels (both oil and chalk/soft) on the Velour paper I picked up a while back; my favourite on the surface was a primary-school staple (Pentel) which are quite hard and don't blend out much. Might give it another try now. Thanks! 😊

[@raizes]

@@jennyb-aeternabitart7436 Caran d ache neocolor II

[@jennyb-aeternabitart7436]

You covered some papers here that I've not tried. The first sanded paper looked interesting; having only tried Uart myself, it was nice to see such a widerange of paper colours; I'm now wondering how it holds up to water droplets, as Uart loses its surface... And the Strathmore Artagain is definitely on my list of papers to try... Along with their Bristol Smooth. Agree with your comments on some surface textures being better than others - I could happily avoid MiTientes but Canson's mixed media paper is as good as (or better than) a lot of the hot press watercolour papers I've tried. And some people love surfaces I hate, so having different ones is good too. 😊 Absolutely agree with Pastelmat being the dream paper. Blends well with my Gamblin solvent-free fluid, and with oil pastel (I got a clear one a while back, and also use white to blend). With oil pastel, it doesn't smudge if I catch my hand on it, and holds lines/areas nice and cleanly. I had only used Pastelmat for coloured pencils and dry/soft/chalk pastels until I saw you using it for oil pastel; it is now something I use for all three. The precision it allows with pencils is something I haven't found in any other paper. To add to what you said in the video: Pastelmat does work slightly differently for dry media (for example they smudge if I brush my hand over the picture, but I can use the GamblinSFF or a fixative to solve that to some extent), and it also takes watercolour/wet media underneath the dry media - which is especially excellent when I am using different media for the background and the subject. 😊

[@raizes]

@@jennyb-aeternabitart7436 I have used turpentine on the sanded paper and it worked great!

[@kimranson4775]

TY❤