Holbein Artists’ Oil Pastels
The shape of these pastels is rectangular, helping artists get a better grip and scrape off material as per their requirements. These oil pastels can be applied to any surface, and they can be seamlessly used over acrylic or oil paint. Because of the paraffin and the highly refined mineral oils that are contained in the pastels, they never completely dry or crack, but works need to be mounted under glass for protection. Each pastel measures about 70 millimeters in length, and is available in one of the 225 available colors!
Product Pros & Cons
Artist Likes
- Pigment rich and bright colors
- Soft and easy to work with pastel
- Amazingly wide color range covers every possible need
- Mineral oils prevent color cracking
- Good in combination with Sennelier pastels for a soft-hard, complete result
- Good for detailing
Artist Dislikes
- No color-specific wrapping
- Requires glass mount after finishing the work
Most artists find Holbein’s Oil Pastels to be creamy enough to be easy to work with, and pigmented enough to offer that great color result. Contrary to other oil pastels, Holbein’s pastels don’t use vegetable oils, and so their color won’t crack. However, there’s the need for glass mount after finishing as they will never completely dry. Professional artists use these in combination with Sennelier pastels which are even softer, thus achieving a complete drawing result.
Final Considerations
These pastels are the best of their kind, and they can be used for a variety of purposes such as pastel painting, or blending with acrylic or oil paints. Considering the quality of this product, it is quite reasonably priced, but buying sets of it is always preferred against individual picks. If you’re a professional, try these together with the Sennelier pastels as these two products complete each other. If you’re not a professional, you’ll find that Holbein’s Oil Pastels will easily cover all of your needs.
Holbein Oil Pastel Color Samples
Color Name | Color Sample |
Antique Orange 1 | |
Antique Orange 3 | |
Antique Orange 5 | |
Antique Yellow 1 | |
Antique Yellow 3 | |
Antique Yellow 5 | |
Blue Violet 1 | |
Blue Violet 3 | |
Blue Violet 5 | |
Burnt Sienna 1 | |
Burnt Sienna 3 | |
Burnt Sienna 5 | |
Burnt Umber 1 | |
Burnt Umber 3 | |
Burnt Umber 5 | |
Carmine 1 | |
Carmine 3 | |
Carmine 5 | |
Cerulean Blue 1 | |
Cerulean Blue 3 | |
Cerulean Blue 5 | |
Chrome Yellow 1 | |
Chrome Yellow 3 | |
Chrome Yellow 5 | |
Cobalt Blue 1 | |
Cobalt Blue 3 | |
Cobalt Blue 5 | |
Crimson 1 | |
Crimson 3 | |
Crimson 5 | |
Deep Green 1 | |
Deep Green 3 | |
Deep Green 5 | |
Emerald Green 1 | |
Emerald Green 3 | |
Emerald Green 5 | |
English Red 1 | |
English Red 3 | |
English Red 5 | |
Focus Green 1 | |
Focus Green 3 | |
Focus Green 5 | |
Foggy Green 1 | |
Foggy Green 3 | |
Foggy Green 5 | |
Hansa Yellow 1 | |
Hansa Yellow 3 | |
Hansa Yellow 5 | |
Indian Red 1 | |
Indian Red 3 | |
Indian Red 5 | |
Indigo 1 | |
Indigo 3 | |
Indigo 5 | |
Magenta 1 | |
Magenta 3 | |
Magenta 5 | |
May Green 1 | |
May Green 3 | |
May Green 5 | |
Non Color 1 2 | |
Non Color 1 3 | |
Non Color 1 4 | |
Non Color 1 5 White | |
Non Color 1 Black | |
Non Color 2 1 | |
Non Color 2 2 | |
Non Color 2 3 | |
Non Color 2 4 | |
Non Color 2 5 | |
Olive Green 1 | |
Olive Green 3 | |
Olive Green 5 | |
Oxide of Olive 1 | |
Oxide of Olive 3 | |
Oxide of Olive 5 | |
Oxide Yellow 1 | |
Oxide Yellow 3 | |
Oxide Yellow 5 | |
Permanent Green 1 | |
Permanent Green 3 | |
Permanent Green 5 | |
Permanent Red 1 | |
Permanent Red 3 | |
Permanent Red 5 | |
Prussian Blue 1 | |
Prussian Blue 3 | |
Prussian Blue 5 | |
Purple 1 | |
Purple 3 | |
Purple 5 | |
Raw Sienna 1 | |
Raw Sienna 3 | |
Raw Sienna 5 | |
Raw Umber 1 | |
Raw Umber 3 | |
Raw Umber 5 | |
Red Ochre 1 | |
Red Ochre 3 | |
Red Ochre 5 | |
Red Violet 1 | |
Red Violet 3 | |
Red Violet 5 | |
Rose Pink 1 | |
Rose Pink 3 | |
Rose Pink 5 | |
Sap Green 1 | |
Sap Green 3 | |
Sap Green 5 | |
Scarlett 1 | |
Scarlett 3 | |
Scarlett 5 | |
Sky Blue 1 | |
Sky Blue 3 | |
Sky Blue 5 | |
Turquoise Green 1 | |
Turquoise Green 3 | |
Turquoise Green 5 | |
Ultramarine Blue 1 | |
Ultramarine Blue 3 | |
Ultramarine Blue 5 | |
Ultramarine Light 1 | |
Ultramarine Light 3 | |
Ultramarine Light 5 | |
Vandyke Brown 1 | |
Vandyke Brown 3 | |
Vandyke Brown 5 | |
Venetian Red 1 | |
Venetian Red 3 | |
Venetian Red 5 | |
Vermillion 1 | |
Vermillion 3 | |
Vermillion 5 | |
Viridian 1 | |
Viridian 3 | |
Viridian 5 | |
Warm Gray 1 | |
Warm Gray 2 | |
Warm Gray 3 | |
Warm Gray 4 | |
Warm Gray 5 |