{"id":13094,"date":"2013-08-02T11:26:35","date_gmt":"2013-08-02T10:26:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.jacksonsart.co.uk\/?p=13094"},"modified":"2026-04-24T09:13:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T08:13:31","slug":"oil-pastel-fixative-testing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jacksonsart.com\/blog\/2013\/08\/02\/oil-pastel-fixative-testing\/","title":{"rendered":"Oil Pastel Fixative Testing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oil pastel fixative should leave a clear and glossy film to protect oil pastels against dust and smearing. I have heard people say that oil pastels are similar to children’s colouring crayons. I think those people must not have used artist quality oil pastels. I’ve been using them lately and drawing\/painting with artists oil pastels feels more like using lipstick than crayons. I think they are gorgeous.<\/p>\n

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\"oil-pastel-fingers\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"oil-pastels\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Oil Pastel Fixatives<\/h2>\n

Oil pastel<\/a> is unlike oil paint in that it never dries. The drawing\/painting will always be smudge-able and can attract dust to the surface. Oil pastel drawings are always framed behind glass to protect them. Sennelier make an Oil Pastel Fixative that comes in both an aerosol spray can and liquid in a glass bottle to be decanted into a sprayer or brushed on. It says on the can\/bottle that it protects from dust and smudging. I thought I would see how well it worked.<\/p>\n

\"TTOF\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I did a quick test on little sketches using the Sennelier Oil Pastel Fixative aerosol and it didn’t work well, it made it more sticky. So I set up some more intensive tests and here are all the things I found out.<\/p>\n

Materials<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was looking for protection of oil pastel against smudging and the stickiness that attracts dust. Also paying attention to the gloss\/matte finish of final surface. I tested:<\/p>\n