Painting with Oil Pastels – Process Art for Kids

Oil pastels are one of the BEST, most versatile art supplies in the land, and did you know you can try painting with oil pastels? It’s unbelievably fun, and as the kids say, “It’s so satisfying!”

A hand holds a Q-Tip that has been dipped in oil and rubs it on an outline of a flower drawn with oil pastels on a piece of white paper. The oil pastel drawing blends and looks melted like a watercolor where it has been rubbed with the Q-Tip. Next to the paper lays a scattering of Crayola oil pastels.

Kids love painting with oil pastels

And honestly, adults do, too!

My preschoolers love this technique just as much as my college students.

As a teacher, I love that I’m getting a ton of bang for my buck with oil pastels.

You can use oil pastels as intended (a vibrant, creamy, dreamy drawing tool) and use them for this bonus technique (it’s like a BOGO).

✨ Check out our ultimate collection of the best process art projects for kids!

A close-up of painting with oil pastels: an oil-dipped Q-Tip being rubbed on the outline of an oil pastel-drawn flower on white paper.

Painting with oil pastels only needs two ingredients

Because oil is a chief ingredient in oil pastels, they become magical when another oil is introduced.

This is the perfect opportunity to open your medicine cabinet or pantry to grab whatever oil is most convenient for you.

We have used baby and vegetable oil for this technique which work marvelously!

(Who doesn’t love an activity with an ingredient you already have on hand?)

🌸 Check out some of our other favorite ways to use oil pastels:

An outstretched hand holds eight Crayola oil pastels over a piece of white paper. Below the hand are two small bowls of oil (one vegetable oil and the other baby oil), each both with two Q-Tips in it.

Materials

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Oil pastels
Oil of choice – we have used baby oil and vegetable oil
Thick white paper – ex: watercolor paper or cardstock
Q-Tips – optional
Small bowl

The first step of painting with oil pastels: a flower outline is drawn on a white piece of paper with Crayola oil pastels. The petals are different combinations of colors with large petals and smaller ones drawn inside in pink, orange, blue, and purple.

How to paint with oil pastels

First, use your oil pastels to draw a picture on your white paper.

Next, dip either your finger or a Q-Tip in your oil of choice and rub it onto your oil pastel drawing.

As you rub the oil onto the oil pastels, the colors instantly blend, smooth, and transform right before your eyes.

What started as an obvious drawing will quickly morph into what looks like a watercolor.

💡 Teacher Tip: The harder you press with oil pastels, the more color you’ll get on your paper. We encourage our preschoolers to push hard to get loads of color.