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Sennelier Oil Pastels

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In 1949, Parisian painter Henri Goetz approached Henri Sennelier, the famous artist materials manufacturer, about creating a wax color stick for his friend Pablo Picasso. Picasso, a long-time Sennelier customer and a frequent visitor to their store across the street from the Louvre museum, was looking for a medium that could be used freely on a variety of surfaces without fading or cracking.

Their collaboration produced the incomparable Sennelier oil pastels. Originally available in a palette of classic hues, the color selection was expanded with the additional of metallic and iridescent hues.

Beyond these classic hues, a selection of unique shades is available and, in particular, a gradation of grays, required for a balanced palette. This evolution is the fruit of a long-standing collaboration with European and North American painters who have worked with Sennelier to develop an exceptional palette of shades.

The Sennelier Oil Pastel is a product that makes use of the components used in all Sennelier colors — top-quality pigments, an extremely pure synthetic binding medium, and mineral wax. The pigments are ground with an inert, non-siccative binding medium that does not oxidize and that has no effect upon either the film stability or the surface. This base is then mixed with wax (neutral pH). The balance of this mix provides Sennelier oil pastels with a unique unctuousness and a creamy texture that allows for a great deal of freedom in pictorial expression.

Sennelier Oil Pastels possess an extraordinarily high pigment content, thus providing them with a high coloring and covering potential, excellent brightness, and a high degree of light stability (with the exception of metallic and fluorescent shades).

The remarkable properties of these components, along with their precise dosage, provide Sennelier Oil Pastels with unique properties, making the brand a world-recognized reference.

Individual sticks are paper wrapped, and measure 2-5/8" × 3/8" (67 mm × 10 mm).

Note — To protect an oil pastel surface from dirt and dust, apply a fixative 8 to 10 days after the work is completed. The fixative will not dry the work. If desired, a final varnish spray can be applied to seal the surface permanently, but this may adversely affect future restoration possibilities.

Note — Use this color chart as an approximation of the real color. If exact color matching is necessary, use actual samples of the materials.

Minimum Order — Please order individual pastels (open stock) in a minimum of 6, so that we can efficiently package and ship your order. Your selection may be assorted to meet this requirement.

Oil pastels can be used alone to create a painting. Apply them thickly or thinly, blurred or clearly defined. They can be combined with oil painting mediums such as turpentine, paint thinner, or any of the painting oils to produce glazing, scumbling, or wash effects.

Oil paints should never be used over oil pastels, because oil pastels never dry out, and oil paints will not adhere to the underlying surface. Oil paints can be used over an oil pastel wash, provided that the underlying surface is primed. Interesting effects can be achieved by scraping, scratching, smearing, or scrubbing the pastel surface.

Oil pastels can be used as a resist with water-based mediums such as watercolor or acrylic. Waterbased paint will not mix with the pastel. Oil pastels can also be used with colored pencils and oil sticks. They can be used in conjunction with printmaking inks to create monotypes.

Oil pastels can be applied with a palette knife to achieve impasto effects. For ease in application, the pastel can be heated or melted to obtain a smoother, more creamy or fluid medium.

Recommendations for Supports — Sennelier Oil Pastels were created to free artists from technical restraints and the limitations of traditional supports such as canvas. They are extremely versatile and can be used on a wide variety of surfaces.

Use them on acid-free drawing paper, at least 100–110 lb. weight, or on watercolor paper, at least 140 lb. A surface that is lightly textured, but not rough, is customary for oil pastels.

Use them on museum board, illustration board, or any acid-free paperboard stock, or apply them to rigid supports such as wood, Masonite, glass, ceramics, or metal.

Soft supports such as canvas, made of cotton, linen, or polyester, can also be used, as well as other natural and synthetic fabrics.

Note — Although it is not absolutely required, Sennelier recommends applying a coat of gesso prior to painting on non-paper surfaces, to preserve the intensity and vibrancy of colors.

see also ...

® Sennelier is a registered trademark.

CA Prop 65

Sennelier Oil Pastels

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Open stock means being able to replace colors individually as you use them up, protecting the value and completeness of your sets.

Open stock means being able to pick and choose colors across different color lines to create the working palette you choose.

Open stock is a service that Blick offers on the finest artist grade paints, pastels, markers, pencils, and more. Tell all your artist friends that Blick has open stock.

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews

Sennelier Oil Pastels

4.7

(based on 34 reviews)

94%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

REVIEWS

Reviewed by 34 customers

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Displaying reviews 1-10

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1/30/2012

5.0

sennelier oil pastels

By paw

from st.louis,mo

Pros

Cons

Best Uses

Comments about Sennelier Oil Pastels:

i found these oil pastels to go down smooth, easy to work with & blend well with other colors. i very happy with them & have bought more since & plan on buying more.

1/19/2012

5.0

just wonderful

By tiepelo's nephew

from edgewater park nj

Pros

Cons

Best Uses

Comments about Sennelier Oil Pastel Sets:

although this brand is expensive, if you are a pro this or holbein would be recommended. the colors are rich and vibrant. it's buttery texture makes it perfect for blending.

12/9/2011

5.0

Smooth as butta'.

By B. La Reina

from Texas

Pros

Cons

Best Uses

Comments about Sennelier Oil Pastels:

It makes blending so much easier.

11/13/2011

5.0

The GOLD STANDARD of oil pastels

By Madamioselle Crone

from Bananaslug Sanctuary

Pros

Cons

Best Uses

Comments about Sennelier Oil Pastel Sets:

I love the rich look & blendibility of oils but putting together a top shelf palette with all the accessories is out of my reach at the moment. I'd worked w/ the Holbeins in the late 80s at school & knew I wanted a similar soft texture and quality. The Sennilier cardboard box of 72 was a dream come true! Finger-blending the colors can produce effects that remind me of Renior and Monet- soft and luminous. All the colors needed for portraits, pets, landscapes & still life are there. I'm all set for now, plus there's open stock for later replacements.

9/18/2011

(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

The best pastels money can buy

By Little Red Chicken

from San Francisco, CA

Pros

Cons

Best Uses

Comments about Sennelier Oil Pastels:

The Sennelier pastels have taken my work to a whole new level. The colors are extraordinary and the feel of them has ruined me for other pastels. I will only use Senneliers from now on. Thank you Dick Blick for carrying such a variety of piments at such a great deal!

8/23/2011

(2 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

These are wonderful with my encaustics.

By Deb

from Florida/Vermont

Pros

Cons

Best Uses

Comments about Sennelier Oil Pastel Sets:

They mix well with the encaustic paints and offer the luminescency I want.

8/15/2011

(1 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Fantastic...

By Karl

from williamston Ma

Pros

Cons

Best Uses

Comments about Sennelier Oil Pastels:

Wonderful product

7/14/2011

(3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Like drawing with butter!

By BevP

from Pender Island, BC, Canada

Pros

Cons

Best Uses

Comments about Sennelier Oil Pastel Sets:

There is no waxey feel to these oil pastels, and they move across the canvas with freedom, and a trail of stunning colour!

7/2/2011

(5 of 5 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

WOW!!

By Crystal LJ

from California

Pros

Cons

Best Uses

Comments about Sennelier Oil Pastel Sets:

I actually bought about 6 sticks around 2008, and I have used them a few times. I mainly used cheap brands such as Sargent Art Artist Oil pastels, ProArt, an old student grade set of Sakura Cray-Pas, Pentel and so fourth. I must say that these are FAR more easier to blend with and it's amazing how much different they felt compared to the ones I have used. Even when I am freezing my butt off in my own bedroom during December, theyre easy to work with and I do not have a problem with them being too hard to blend and totally crumbing like crazy like some of my cheap waxy oil pastels. I love the feel of them when the glide over the surface.

Sennelier is also good for being the top layer over other harder pastels.

However, Sennelier is the only professional oil pastel brand I experimented with so far and I yet await to experiment with other brands considered top notch. But still, I feel Sennelier is a must have.

6/2/2011

(3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Sennelier Pastels are Superior

By ArtIsIn Studio

from Princeville, Illinois

Pros

Cons

Best Uses

Comments about Sennelier Oil Pastel Sets:

Five star product in every category. If ever the phrase"you get what you pay for" was true, it must have been these oil pastels they were talking about. Definitely not the cheapest on the market, but if one is careful to purchase these when they are on sale, this is a superior value for your dollar. The blendability(is that a word,really?) of this product is amazing. Even the most introductory level student will experience success as the learn with this product. Because of the concern with toxins, I don't use these with children, though I wish that there was a product of this quality that was totally non toxic. That would be the only drawback to this product. I am hooked and now have my students hooked on them too. Perfect product for teaching color theory.

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Item	No.	Color		PricePrices, promotions, and availability may vary by store, catalog, and online.	Bulk!	Qty	MSDS

Bulk Discounts! →				Each	5+
20038-1901	111	Aluminum	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-5811	207	Ash Blue	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-5941	002	Azure Blue	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-7991	040	Barite Green	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-2021	023	Black	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-5951	075	Blue Alizarin Lake	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-5101	084	Blue Chromium Green	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-5861	011	Blue Gray	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-5391	047	Blue Violet	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-3781	008	Bordeaux	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-5121	082	Bright Turquoise	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-4291	018	Bright Yellow	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-8211	092	Brown Madder	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-8231	241	Brown Ochre	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-8481	094	Brown Pink	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
	out of stock, available 2/21
20038-8041	036	Burnt Sienna	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-8051	034	Burnt Umber	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-7481	214	Celadon Green	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-5971	219	Celestial Blue	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-5161	003	Cerulean Blue	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-2131	228	Charcoal	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-5821	235	Charcoal Blue	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-4991	090	Chinese Orange	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-8001	242	Chrome Brown	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-7981	085	Chrome Green Medium	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-3921	091	Chrome Red	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-7971	039	Chromium Green Deep	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-7891	041	Cinnabar Green Deep	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-7901	042	Cinnabar Green Yellow	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-4821	204	Cinnabar Yellow Brown	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-5181	004	Cobalt Blue	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-7921	043	Cobalt Green Light	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-6581	217	Cobalt Violet Light	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-6671	095	Cobalt Violet Light Hue	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-2521	223	Cold Gray	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-3241	236	Coral	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-5211	203	Delft Blue	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-8841	243	Earth Brown	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-2571	229	English Gray	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-3801	025	Flesh Ochre	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-5271	237	French Ultramarine Blue	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-3721	202	Geranium Lake Light	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-8911	231	Gold Brown	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-4161	022	Gold Yellow	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-1191	132	Golden Pearl	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-2591	012	Gray Deep	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-7961	016	Gray Green	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-7021	045	Green Medium	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-7951	072	Green Yellow Light	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-2901	215	Havana Ochre	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
	out of stock, available 2/21
20038-8831	225	Indian Blue	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-5201	080	Indigo Light	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-1010	125	Iridescent White	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-4061	019	Lemon Yellow	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-3011	240	Light English Red	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-2581	014	Light Gray	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-4951	233	Luminous Yellow	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-4921	200	Mandarin	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-2041	098	Mars Black	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-4671	208	Mars Orange	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-2621	224	Medium Gray	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-5801	211	Midnight Blue	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-7521	205	Moss Green	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-2611	212	Mummy	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-4141	021	Naples Yellow	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-4891	201	Nickel Yellow	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-7871	210	Olive Brown	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-7071	046	Olive Green	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-4591	238	Orange Ochre	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-5921	006	Pale Blue	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-9241	112	Pale Gold	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-3711	077	Pale Pink Madder Lake	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-6911	216	Parma Violet	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-2561	096	Payne's Gray	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-7311	234	Permanent Green Light	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-3731	220	Permanent Intense Red	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-5171	222	Phthalo Blue	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-7941	086	Phthalo Green Light	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-7911	213	Pine Green	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-3061	028	Pink	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-5221	007	Prussian Blue	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-7581	218	Prussian Green	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-6001	027	Purple	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-8061	037	Raw Sienna	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
	out of stock, available 2/21
20038-8071	035	Raw Umber	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-3771	239	Red Brown	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-3911	115	Red Copper	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-3751	030	Red Deep	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-3811	134	Red Gold	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-3021	029	Red Light	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-3701	048	Red Violet	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-3791	135	Reddish Brown Gold	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-8221	015	Reddish Brown Gray	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-9291	114	Rich Gold	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-9261	113	Rich Pale Gold	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-3171	230	Rose Ochre	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-5051	227	Royal Blue	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-3371	031	Ruby Red	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-7091	087	Sap Green	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-7081	088	Sap Green Light	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-8011	093	Sennelier Brown Light	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-8081	033	Sepia	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-5981	226	Sky Blue	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-3761	232	Terra Cotta	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-1701	099	Titanium Buff	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-5911	123	Transparent Blue	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-1001	221	Transparent Medium	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-5111	206	Turquoise Blue	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-5231	005	Ultramarine Blue	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-3131	032	Venetian Red	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-3281	038	Vermilion	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-6921	076	Violet Alizarin Lake	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-6991	017	Violet Gray	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-6511	209	Violet Ochre	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-7931	044	Viridian Green	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-1500	001	White	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-4321	020	Yellow Deep	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-4911	013	Yellow Gray	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-4931	074	Yellow Lake	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42
20038-4041	026	Yellow Ochre	List $4.25	$2.85	$2.42