Planning your portrait: Pastel vs. Oil

Customers often ask which would be best for their portrait, since I offer both pastel and oil. Sometimes the photo lends itself best to one medium. For instance, if you’re trying to get a nice shine on something in the scene, like in the floor in this portrait, oil works well:



And this portrait worked great in oil as well, showing off lots of highlights and shine:



If you’re after a soft, furry texture, I tend to gravitate toward pastel. See how light and fluffy this looks?



Other considerations:

Oil portraits are painted on a canvas and don’t need to be framed under glass.  If I use a thick canvas and paint the edges, framing is optional. 

Pastel portraits require framing under glass with a mat or spacer to keep the glass away from the art.

I use a combination of pastel pencils and pastel sticks. They are pure pigment with a binder, and the colors never fade or lose their quality once properly framed.

Pastel is less expensive, as I can work quickly without mixing paint or allowing drying time. You may request that a background be added in pastel, or leave the paper color as a background. The background can be as detailed as you want.







Both pastel and oil portraits will be very realistic-looking. It’s really just personal preference. Once you send me some favorite pictures, I’ll offer suggestions and pricing to get exactly what you have in mind.