Oil pastel is a type of pastel (an art medium that consists of powdered pigment and a binder) that uses mixture of non-drying oil and wax as binder. It differs from other pastels which are made with a gum or methyl cellulose binder, and from wax crayons which are made without oil. The surface of an oil pastel painting is less powdery than one made from other pastels, but more difficult to protect with a fixative. The colors of oil pastels are highly saturated and bright. They can be blended easily but they can break easily too.
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Oil pastel in the context of Crayon
A crayon (or wax pastel) is a stick of pigmented wax used for writing or drawing. Wax crayons differ from pastels, in which the pigment is mixed with a dry binder such as gum arabic, and from oil pastels, where the binder is a mixture of wax and oil.
Crayons are available in a range of prices, and are easy to work with. They are less messy than most paints and markers, blunt (removing the risk of sharp points present when using a pencil or pen), typically non-toxic, and available in a wide variety of colors. These characteristics make them particularly good instruments for teaching small children to draw in addition to being used widely by student and professional artists.
Oil pastel in the context of Ground (etching)
A ground is waxy material applied to the surface of a metal etching plate. A metal etching plate is a piece of sheet metal, usually copper, zinc, steel, or aluminium. The ground resists the acid or mordant which is used for etching, protecting areas of the metal plate. Grounds are made from a variety of materials including tar, asphaltum, paint (including spray paint), oil pastels, and other materials manufactured specifically for etching.
Most commonly, a ground is applied evenly over the surface of the metal sheet (also known as the etching plate), and then removed using scratching and other mark making techniques to reveal bare metal underneath. In the traditional technique this is done with a metal needle. However, different grounds enable the artist to create different types of marks. Some types of grounds, such as an aquatint ground, are more complex and may not include a removal process because they are applied in a selective manner.