#57: Sketching in Oil Pastel

Lately I’ve been trying something new in the studio — oil pastels.

Not for finished paintings, not for polished work, but for sketching. For thinking. For exploring ideas quickly without the weight of a canvas or the pressure of committing to paint.

It’s a surprisingly different way of working.

A Different Kind of Speed

Most of the work I’ve been doing recently has involved a slow build: careful drawing, controlled structure, glazing layers of colour over time. That process has its own rhythm, but it can also make every decision feel important.

Oil pastels are the opposite.

They allow me to move quickly — laying down colour, pushing it around, blending directly with my fingers. The marks feel immediate and instinctive. There’s less hesitation and more response.

In that sense, they feel closer to thinking than painting.

Colour Without Commitment

One of the reasons I started experimenting with oil pastels was to explore colour relationships without the commitment of oil paint. When I’m painting, every colour choice feels like a long-term decision.

With pastels, I can test things freely. A strange colour combination, a dramatic shadow, an unexpected highlight. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t matter. It’s only a sketch.

That freedom makes experimentation easier.

Looser Thinking

Another thing I’ve noticed is that the drawings feel looser almost automatically. Oil pastels resist precision. They’re blunt, physical, slightly messy. Instead of chasing detail, they push you toward gesture and shape.

For someone who built their practice around careful black and white drawing, that’s been an interesting shift.

The focus becomes less about perfect lines and more about capturing energy.

Why Sketching Still Matters

Even though these drawings aren’t intended as finished pieces, they feel important. Sketching is where ideas move fastest. It’s where new directions can appear without pressure.

Oil pastels have become a useful way of keeping that part of the process alive — a space where colour, form, and expression can be explored before they ever reach a canvas.

And sometimes those quick experiments reveal more than you expect.

Another Tool in the Studio

I don’t see oil pastels replacing anything in my practice. They’re not a new destination.

But they are a new tool — one that allows ideas to develop in a slightly different way.

And in the studio, that’s often enough to change everything.

.M.

Be real.

Make art.

If you’d like to learn more about my creative process or see my latest work, feel free to reach out or check out the rest of my website.