Caran d'Ache Neopastel Artists' Oil Pastels

Caran d'Ache Neopastel Oil Pastels will adhere to almost all supports - including paper, colouredpaper, tracing paper, velvet, canvas, wood, glass and leather - and can also be used on top of dried coats of ink, acrylic and both water-soluble or traditional oil paints. The texture and colour of the support you choose will determine the appearance of your finished painting.

Neopastel can be used as a standalone medium or combined with other paints, inks, pencils ad pastels for mixed media application. Their soft, velvety texture makes it easy to mix colours with your fingers, a blending stump, cotton bud or colourless blender. As Neopastels are hydrophobic, they can be used with wash techniques. They are also oleophilic, and can be used with turpentine to creat painterly effects. To keep pastels clean when mixing colours wipe them regularly with a cotton cloth.

Neopastels are a non-siccative oil pastel, which means that they do not dry. Your work can be preserved with a fixative, but for the best protection it is advised to frame your artwork under glass with a mat to ensure that your art doesn't come into contact with the glass.

All the area of the pastel can be used to apply colour. Try out some of these techniques to get started:

• Stumping : Stump and mix with a finger a stumping stick or a colourless medium to blend shades.
• Glazing : dilute with turpentine and work on canvas.
• Batik effect on paper : create a design with NEOPASTEL on the paper and cover it with a liquid paint.
• Stencil : lay down the pastel on the edge of a stencil then drag it onto the paper using the fingers.
• Sgrafitto : overlay the colour then scratch the top layer with a knife or spatula.