Paint a rainbow rose with oil pastels

In this lesson Mont Marte Joe paints a beautiful Rainbow Rose using our new 48pce Oil Pastel Set. It's so much easier than it looks and lots of fun. So grab your pastels and get into it!

Step 1. Transferring the image.

On the first image of this PDF is the outline of the rose. Print this out to A3 sizing and shade the backside in with a 6b pencil. Turn the sheet back over and lay it on to a sheet of Mont Marte 300 gsm Watercolour Paper. Use some tape across the top to hold it into position. Then retrace the line work with a ball point pen. Once all the line work has been drawn in, discard the sheet. Note: I have chosen to do my rose in A3 sizing but it could also be done in A4 sizing.

Step 2. Painting the petals.

The best way to paint the petals is petal by petal. Start with the top petal and work down. This is so that you don’t get pastel over the back of your hand. Refer to the colour guide image in this PDF. Lay each tone in and then blend the colours into each other with a finger.

Step 3. Painting the stalk. T

o paint the stalk, first lay in yellow. Then lay a light green into this. This is a good way to make a nice bright tone. Next lay in some white facing the light source, and lay some dark green in on the opposing side. Oil pastels are a very versatile medium. They blend nicely, can be scratched back, and can also be melted with turpentine so they look like paint. A number of tools can be used with them to achieve different effects.

Step 4. Painting the background.

Lay some tape around the edge of the sheet. This will create a border. Colour in the background with the light grey. Colour right up to the petals. Take the colour about 3/4 of the way down the sheet and fade the edge a little bit. Now select the dark grey and bring it into the light grey. Blend the greys together with a finger so the transition is smooth.