There are different brands of oil pastels, and each one has a different quality of creaminess or tackiness. Since I like to build up layers, I avoid using Neopastels, which are as gooey as lipsticks, and don’t tack up quick enough to allow multiple layers. My favorite brand in the past was Guitar Oil Pastels, but that company went out of business years ago. The closest substitute I had found (until trying these by Arrtx) was Holbein. Holbein makes a wide range of high quality colors but is very pricey.

However there is a new kid on the block called Arrtx. This company sent me the box of oil pastels pictured here for free, in exchange for a review. After trying out their oil pastels with several techniques and applications and comparing them by quality and price to other brands, I’ve put this brand at the top of my favorites list. I tried their 72 Oil Pastel Set. I love sets because it makes it easy to store, is portable in the lightweight box, and fun to have a range of colors at your fingertips.

Pictured above is the Arrtx 72 Oil Pastel Set. The range of colors is wonderful. Lots of subtle neutrals along with a good range of brights. These pastels are not too gooey and not too tacky – just the perfect balance to pile one color on top of another. Scraping back to reveal underlying layers of color was also easy to do. And you can’t beat the price. At the time of writing this, both Arrtx and Holbein oil pastels had these on sale, so I could do a good price comparison. Turns out you can get five Arrtx oil pastels for the price of one Holbein oil pastel!

Here’s a link to purchase the Arrtx Oil Pastels.

Other links to purchase this set:
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3fsjduP
Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/3RZeCyh
Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3rM86jh
Amazon DE: https://amzn.to/3CRbZZo
AliExpress: https://bit.ly/3RWNiAT

 

Additional Resources

How to Seal Art Materials
Oil Pastels – An Amazing Medium For Painters
Review of Paul Ruben Oil Pastels