Carol L. Zack showcases some examples of her oil pastel paintings with a brief description of the medium and the class offerings she makes available in the greater Chicago area that are designed to learn how to use artist's grade oil pastels.

1. Paintings created by Carol L. Zack

2. The History of Oil Pastel
Borrowed from the Oil Pastel Society Website www.oilpastelsociety.com
Oil Pastel is a relatively new medium, considering that
most have been around for centuries. In 1921, assisted and
advised by artist and theorist Yamamoto, 2 brothers-in-law
developed a high quality crayon, which combined the soft,
smooth color application of crayon with the brightness of
pastel. They continued to improve their product at the
Sakura Crayon Company, and thus the name
Cray-Pas was born. The final formulation was developed in
1927 and has been considered a children's medium, not one
for the serious artist.
In 1947, artists Henri Goetz and Pablo Picasso approached
Henri Sennelier with the idea of designing a professional
version of the children's product. Picasso told Henri, "I
want a colored pastel that I can paint on anything, wood,
paper, canvas, metal, etc. without having to prepare or
prime the canvas.“ Goetz wanted a pastel he could use to
start oil paintings. He told Henri, "If painting seems to be
the complete of all pictorial techniques, then pastel is
certainly the most direct. No instrument as the brush,
knife or palette interferes between the artist's gesture and
his work.” Two years later in 1949, with the help of the two
artists, Sennelier invented the first professional oil
pastels.
They had a creamy consistency with a brilliant color
palette. The unusually wide range of grays were chosen
specifically by Picasso. Later an assortment of iridescent
and metallic pastels was added followed by fluorescents.
Sennelier also makes a giant pastel, and more recently a
new "Le Grande“ size in the same color range as the
standards.
Years later, other brands jumped into the market - Caran
d'Ache in 1981, Holbein in the early 80s with two grades of
their oil pastels: student and professional. Talens and
Grumbacher added theirs at about the same time.
Oil pastels use wax and inert oils as a binder making them
non-yellowing and giving them excellent adhesion
characteristics. They are completely acid free, and they
never harden, thus they will never crack. Oil pastels can be
applied to any paper, rigid support or fabric support
without technical restraints, allowing the artist complete
freedom of expression while maintaining archival stability.
History References: Sakura Web site : www.jellyroll.com,
Oil Pastel by Kenneth Leslie

3. What are
Oil Pastels?
Oil Pastel is a medium that is applied using
brightly colored sticks that contain large
amounts of pure pigment, highly refined
mineral oil and a small amount of wax. They
are very sticky and sheer and can be blended
and smudged to create oil painting like effects,
or can be similar to soft pastel in the process
used to build the painting.
The best quality oil pastels are Holbein,
Sennelier and Mungyo Gallery Soft Oil Pastels
because they seem to have the most pigment,
are fade resistant and have less wax. These
pastels are the culmination of more than 50
years of research, development, and
manufacturing expertise in the oil pastel field.
The manufacturing process is entirely
automated to ensure uniformity of color
distribution.
They handle evenly and cleanly and, once
down, provide excellent surface stability.
Because of the wax content and highly refined
mineral oil used in their manufacture, they will
never harden completely and therefore must be
protected by framing the finished art work
under glass. Oil Pastel is a fragile medium, but
user friendly and easy to use. Simple paper
towels, good quality paper and some Weber’s
Res-n-gel are all that is needed to create a full
painting.

4. Question and Answer
Do oil pastels need to be framed?
A. Oil pastels will harden to some degree, but due to
their wax and oil content they never completely
dry. Therefore they need to be framed behind
glass
for protection from the elements.
Sometimes an acrylic varnish is applied over the pastels
and this leaves a protective coat that does
not need framing and can be gently wiped clean with a
damp cloth.
Q. Can oil pastels be mixed with other mediums?
A. Yes they can be used with traditional oil painting
mediums such as turpentine, mineral spirits and
glazing mediums, and also acrylic mediums that
have no water added.
Q. What supports are good with oil pastels?
A. Oil Pastels are a very versatile media. They may be
used on any archival support such as paper,
board, and canvas and even on metal and glass.
Q. What are the differences between oil pastels, soft
pastels, hard pastels, oil sticks and oil bars?
A. All of these are made with the same pure pigments
that are used in traditional oil paint.
The difference is the binder and the fact that they
are all formed into a stick or bar.
• Oil pastels are pure pigment in a fossil wax and
mineral oil binder.
• Soft and hard pastels are the same; the difference is in
their hardness only. Soft pastels are
pure pigment with gum tragacanth as a binder.
• Oil sticks and oil bars are true oil paints, which are
pure pigment and oil such as linseed, with a
drying agent as a binder. They form a skin that can be
peeled off for use.
Click on http://www.oilpastelsociety.com
• Become a member of OPS
• Learn about other artists who create paintings using oil
pastel
• Participate in the annual on line Oil Pastel Society Show

5. Learning to Paint
with Oil Pastel
Oil Pastel Classes are offered at The Fine
Line Creative Arts Center in St. Charles,
IL. and The DuPage Art League in
Wheaton, IL.
Carol Zack, who specializes in teaching
both soft and oil pastel techniques is also
available to teach workshops and can
provide one-on-one private lessons in her
studio in Elgin, IL. The Links listed
below will provide more information
www.zackartistry.com
www.fineline.org
www.dupageartleague.org

6. Paintings by Carol L. Zack
©All rights Reserved
The following pages showcase original, one-of-a-kind oil pastel paintings created
by oil pastel artist, Carol L. Zack. Work is created on archival paper, such as
Arches, Rives BFK, and archival mat board. No reproduction or copying these
images without the permission of the artist.

7. “Sunburst”
Oil Pastel

8. “A New Floral”
Oil Pastel

9. Mother’s Day Roses
Oil Pastel

10. “Floral in a Pink Vase”
Oil Pastel

11. “Portrait of Danielle”
Oil Pastel (sold)

12. “Portrait of Emily”
Oil Pastel (Sold)

13. “Portrait of Michael”
Oil Pastel (Sold)

14. “Portrait of Katelyn”
Oil Pastel (Sold)

15. “Portrait of Sarah”
Oil Pastel (Sold)

19. “Portrait of Edward - Williamsburg in
March”
Oil Pastel

20. “Girls at Trafalgar Square”
Oil Pastel

21. “Down the Gunnison”
Oil Pastel

23. “Relaxing at Biltmore”
Oil Pastel

24. “Twilight on the Thames”
Oil Pastel

25. “Utah
Landscape”

26. “Sandpoint”
Oil Pastel

27. “Scottish
Seascape”

28. “Lake St Mary’”
Oil Pastel

29. “The Venice Tavern”
Oil Pastel

30. “The Top of Galena”
Oil Pastel

37. About Carol L. Zack
Carol Zack is a Chicago area artist who specializes in the
use of oil pastels in her paintings. She enjoys using
vibrant color in her pastel paintings and takes
inspiration from the French Impressionist and Abstract
Expressionist painters.
Carol is now actively involved in exhibiting and selling
her paintings. She has won several awards locally and
nationally. She offers painting workshops and
welcomes commissions and gallery representation.
She is actively engaged as a full time artist and framing
consultant. She finds time to work in the greater fox
valley community helping to strengthen the arts:
•A founding member of the Yellow House Artists whose
focus is on oil pastel painting.
•Member of The Fine Line Creative Arts Center in St.
Charles, IL and has been a faculty member since 2006.
•Member of the Dupage Art League and enjoys teaching
pastel to a lively and engaged group of pastel painters.
•Continuing Education - she also travels each year to the
Portrait Society of America’s yearly conference to learn
from the modern portrait masters that provide lots of
inspiration.
•A member of the American Impressionist Society, The
Oil Pastel Society and is a past board member of the
Northwest Area Arts Council.
Carol has earned both her Bachelors and Masters of
Arts Degree and has a faculty member at The University
of Illinois, Ball State University and The Illinois Institute
of Art.
Visit Carol at http://www.zackartistry.com