Sennelier Oil Pastels Standard And Grande Pastels

The world's finest oil pastels, designed to paint on any substrate!

The world's finest oil pastels were their first, originally created in 1949 by Henri Sennelier for Pablo Picasso. Picasso, a frequent patron of Henri’s art supply shop across from the Louvre, was looking for a vibrant colored pastel he could use to paint on anything, giving examples of wood, metals, paper, canvas, etc. Picasso enjoyed the immediacy of children’s crayons and soft pastels, but wanted to be able to use their freer, gestural qualities on all surfaces, and wanted them to be professional quality and lightfast. Sennelier’s first oil pastels have since been the hallmark and long-time standard of the medium.

Trusted and loved by masters like Picasso and Henri Goetz, these luscious pastels are tried and true, and will impress you with their quality and serve you well in all your artistic endeavors!

Sennelier Oil Pastels are available in 2 sizes for multiple applications:

1. Standard size, which at around 2 9/16" long by 3/8" in diameter are already 20% larger than most regular size oil pastels, and the new large 
2. Grande size – a whopping 5" long by 3/4" in diameter, the equivalent of 8 regular oil pastels and perfect for large scale work! The entire luminous 120-color range is available individually in both sizes, and the Standard size is also available in boxes of 5 pastels

Creamy, lightfast, and vibrant, Sennelier Oil Pastels use the same high quality pigments and high pigment loads as their other lines, combined with a pure, synthetic binding medium and mineral wax.  As the binding medium does not oxidize, it will not jeopardize the artwork’s film stability or surface.  They are acid-free, so there is no need to prime any surface as a preventative barrier for protection against deterioration from acid. The neutral pH mineral wax provides a remarkably creamy texture that will never harden or yellow, thus providing excellent adhesion to any support, without ever fearing cracking. They may be thinned with spike lavender oil, turpentine, or mineral spirits to make washes or soften drawing strokes, or blended with the Transparent Blending Medium stick for a wide array of effects. 

They are the ideal medium for artists on the go, as sets can be taken on airplanes without any restrictions since they contain no solvents or liquid oils like tubed paints. The open stock of both traditional sized sticks and Grande sticks boasts 120 vibrant colors, including iridescents, metallics, and fluorescents (fluorescents are not lightfast). Sennelier also produces selective sets that offer both assorted color range sets for broader work, and specific ranges dedicated to landscape, still life and portrait colors, both in sturdy Cardboard and Wood Box Sets, perfect for gift-giving or extensive travel.