Sennelier Oil Painting Stick Sets

Thank you for contacting us. The Oil Stick is a composition of oil paint. A proportion of the oil is substituted with a neutral mineral wax, resulting in the stick appearance.These colours are of perfect quality: pure pigments are ground into vegetable oils (siccatives), selected for their low degree of yellowing with time. The choice and high concentration of pigments enable excellent light resistance to be achieved. These colours are applied discreetly to conventional oil painting supports (oil-proof or universal) and demand quality background preparation. You might be having a reaction to the mineral wax. I would suggest that you wear a dust mask like the one on this page http://www.jerrysartarama.com/safety-gear Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns.

One of the most exciting things about working with Oilbar is that you can draw directly onto the canvas with wet oil colour. The high level of pigmentation provides a strength and depth of colour that is better in every way to oil pastels or crayons. When you use oil pastels there is always a risk that the colors will smudge or pick up dirt, but because of the way Oil Paint Sticks or Oilbars are made they produce a dry film and does not suffer from these problems. The way Oilbar works on a surface is also very similar to conventional oil color and not pastel, displaying a characteristic ‘oiliness.’ What you have is a painting tool which has the directness of pastel but with the color intensity of oil. It is possible to let your creativeness run free and the results are immediate – there is nothing between you and the surface, not even a brush. You do not need a great deal of equipment to work with Oilbar which makes it popular for painting outdoors, and you can still use Oilbar on a palette and with brushes giving you even more creative possibilities. Oil sticks (also known as oil bars, depending on their shape and manufacturer) are made of the same pigments and drying oils used in tube oils. The paint is then combined with wax and rolled into a crayon basically oil paint in a solid form. This medium, unlike the oil pastel, develops a skin as the oil dries. When this top layer of paint solidifies, it seals the wet paint in underneath, much like oil paint. Oil pastels are similar to oil sticks, but with one critical difference: The type of oil used in the formulation of oil pastels is nondrying. Because this material contains more wax than oil, it handles much more like a soft pastel, and it will never completely dry. Little to no skin forms on your working surface and the sticks maintain the same even consistency all the way to the painting surface. Oil pastels are also known to work well with linseed oil and turpentine to create many different and interesting blending effects. So the material contains small differences in content, but they're basically combinations of wax (beeswax, paraffin, microcrystalline petroleum wax, or a mixture of two or three), oil and artists grade pigments. There are probably also other ingredients added to modify the handling characteristics of each particular brand.

Really? The 9.95$ mini size set are that big? I just want to be sure. 

The Oil sticks are 5" inches long and 3/4" inches thick. Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns.