Sennelier Oil Sticks

Solid artists' quality oil paint sticks. (Ø = 3/4 ; length = 5" )

SENNELIER Extra-Fine Solid Oil Sticks can be used alone or in combination with oil colours in tubes. The oil stick colours can be used for an entire painting. They are applied directly to any traditional oil-painting support, such as canvas, wood panel or fine art paper. They need the same archival priming (acrylic gesso or oil ground) that oil paint requires.

Surfaces:
Before use, the surface film of the oil stick must be peeled off. It will form again after a few days of non-use, protecting and conserving the colour. The oil sticks must be applied in a thin film application of no more than 1mm thick. Once applied they can be painted over with oil stick or oil paint and if desired be diluted with turpentine. Oil stick Medium, a colourless oil stick, may be used to produce transparent effects and glazes. Once applied, the oil stick surface will dry in 2 to 5 days, depending on the atmospheric conditions

Varnishing:
If varnishing is desired, you must wait 6 months (as in traditional oil paint) until the colour is completely dry, before giving the painting a final coat of picture varnish. Use a soft brush to varnish so that the oil stick marks are not disturbed. SENNELIER Extra-Fine Solid Oil Stick colours are either opaque (O) or transparent (T) depending on the nature of the pigment in each colour. Oil Sticks do not change during storage and require no special precautions except to be kept away from any source of heat, which could adversely affect the stick.

Application Techniques
After applying the colour with the point or the edge of the oil stick, colours can be mixed directly on the support using the following methods:
• Blending, with brush, finger, or drawing stump. With or without turpentine
• Wash-drawing, dilute colours with turpentine or mineral spirit
• Retouching, with oil stick, palette knife or brush
• Textures, thick application oil stick colour. Retouch with a brush or palette knife
•Sgraffito, scratching a layer of fresh paint with a point (brush handle, palette knife, etc.) to reveal the layer below. Sgraffito is related to engraving, and is used not only for revealing the under-layers of paint but also to scratch and clean unsatisfactory parts of the painting
•Interior Decoration, on glass, ceramics etc. Use for decorative purposes only