Last month, we engaged in a conversation with Justin Ogilvie regarding his ventures into exploring and experimenting with new materials. Join us as we delve further into his perspectives and newly developed fascination with oil sticks and oil pastels.

Are you noticing any distinct qualities or differences between the Oil Sticks? 

Discovering the distinct qualities and differences between each material is pure pleasure for me. 

Each material has its own voice and personality. When I allow myself to experiment and simply doodle with materials, I begin to ‘hear the voice’ of each material, identifying various ‘personality traits’ as materials interact with each other. It’s like listening, instead of talking.

Letting go of preciousness is key to this process, so I tend to avoid the organized logic of illusionistic realism, opting instead for abstract, wonky or trippy figuration, for lack of a better word. 

I use play to overcome preciousness, as it induces in me a more open, attentive, and quiet mind. There’s a performative aspect to playing, but it’s very serious the whole time because it’s all so new.

The whole process becomes a series of accumulating questions (“What if this could work? What if that could work? Hmmm”, etc.). At some point, the artwork whispers back to me, announcing that the experiment is over and it’s time to move on. If I’m listening, I’ll move on, and if I’m lucky, there’ll be a nice record of the exchange.

Alex + Justin with Oil Stick

Incorporating oil sticks & oil pastels in my work has increased the presence of line, immediacy, gestural energy, and bold colour, all of which I’m thrilled to see.

I’m particularly excited by the kind of wandering & scribbly line quality that is possible with sticks, difficult to accomplish with a brush (at least for me).

I have also become obsessed with creating discreet little shapes (splotches, patches, squiggles) of colour, that neighbour each other but rarely ever touch. Somehow these archipelagoes of colour embody philosophical tensions of autonomy vs. relational, and for me this seems to poke critically, yet poetically at the atomized nature of societies today.

Oil Pastel

What has been the most challenging part of this experimenting experience so far? 

Spray Paint (Acrylic)

At the outset of the experiment, I hoped to play with Montana Acrylic spray paint as well. 

It’s a little mundane to state the obvious, but being in a rainy climate during winter months has prevented me from being able to spray my artwork outdoors, as the fumes are quite strong and being indoors isn’t an option. 

I’m determined to get over this small hurdle eventually. Playing with oil sticks & pastels will keep me pleasantly preoccupied until the sun comes out.

Oil Pastels (Almost) Never Dry

Oil pastels use a type of mineral oil (in addition to wax) as their binder which makes them take years to dry (some never dry) and stay workable, so that’s something to keep in mind. In contrast, oil sticks typically use wax as their binder, and do dry. 

I tried using Sennelier Oil Pastel Fixative a few times, which coats the pastel drawing in a somewhat shiny sheen. I personally don’t like sprays (for drawings) or varnishes (for paintings), as they coat the image with a homogenous surface, and the artwork seems to no longer breathe. 

For this reason, I am leaning toward oil sticks for my more serious work, and oil pastels for preliminary studies.

Have there been any surprises with this experiment?

The biggest surprise in this experiment has been how important the quality of surface is when using an oil stick or oil pastel.

If the surface is absorbent, it really ‘grabs hold’ of the pigment when making marks, depositing rich, bold passages filled with texture and vitality. When working on slicker surfaces, the pigments kind of slide across and skim by, and not much pigment is left behind.