Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Art Supplies for Elementary-Aged Kids...Oil Pastels

I have two children who love to create art. I am a writer who loves to write about art.
Doing research for an article, I ended up immersing myself in it—painting, drawing, and sketching. I interviewed art teachers, fine artists, and illustrators. I visited an elementary school art class, purchased new art supplies, watched demo videos online, and started creating art on my own. I learned way too much for a magazine article. So I decided to blog about the spill-over. Day one: oil pastels.

Recently, I was given a pack of Crayola oil pastels. These are wonderful! Although it will feel similar to using crayons, oil pastels are smoother—they just slide across the paper. And the colors are brighter—they really pop on color paper.  (Here was one mom's comparison: Oil pastel vs crayonOil pastels are messier than crayons, but great for sit-down projects.  My kids don’t even want a snack after school because they want to use these.

Some tips:
  • Put newspaper underneath workspace.
  • Don’t have your child cover the whole page in pastels (especially black).
  • Wear old clothes.
  • Have your child try overlapping colors—they totally blend together!
  • Have them rub their finger over the color.
  • Give your child different colors of construction paper.
  • Look at famous artwork to mimic.
  • Join in the fun. Not only did my kids love me joining in, but the conversations that naturally flowed when we were all busy was amazing.

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