It comes as no suprise that Pablo Picasso, who, in collaboration with Henri Sennelier in 1949, helped refine and advocate an oil pastel that could be of use for artists in their studio practice. What Sennelier was able to create were richer colors, which of course expanded the artist’s palette and also expanded the oil pastels worldwide use, basically a perfect tool for artists who wanted to blend painting and drawing. Pre-dating Picasso’s endorsement and exactly 100 years ago, the origin of oil pastels dates comes to focus, when in 1925, the Japanese company, Sakura, introduced a product called Cray-Pas, blending oil and wax to make a crayon suitable for artists and students.
