Every Which Way
Bald man
Oil pastel portrait

Glazing an oil pastel portrait

When I’m glazing or varnishing paintings, I turn the painting in many directions, so the medium gets into all the little crevices of the oil pastels. 

Turn, glaze, let dry.
Turn, glaze, let dry. 
Don’t use a hair dryer to speed up the process.
You want the glaze to dry at its own pace,
and heat might melt the oil pastels.

I don’t glaze the paper itself, only the oil pastels. It helps the oil pastels settle into place. Then I finish it off with 2 or 3 coats of varnish on top. There’s a lot of work and time involved glazing, waiting, varnishing, waiting, but I rather enjoy the process. Unless I’m rushed on time, it can be a meditative practice. 

In the summer, when an oil pastel painting sells, I usually varnish it again before I ship it out. I want to ensure I’ve given the painting as much protection as I possibly can, since it’s going to be sitting in hot mail trucks for several days. 

Every Which Way
8.5×11 in oil pastel portrait
Available here

It’s 108F here as I’m writing this. I’m a bit paranoid that the oil pastels will melt & smear before the painting reaches its new home. So far, knock on wood, that hasn’t happened. I think this is my third year creating & selling oil pastel portraits. I’ve sold a lot of them, so what I’m doing must be working. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

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