# Why are there no great works of art in crayon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 7, 2013, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-great-works-of-art-in-crayon/670578 "2013-10-07T11:59:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![turtlescanfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@turtlescanfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/turtlescanfly)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-great-works-of-art-in-crayon/670578/1 "2013-10-07T11:59:53Z")
Or maybe there are and I’m just not aware of them. We have pencil, pen and ink, watercolors, oil paintings… why no crayons or felt tip markers (the tools of aspiring child artists everywhere)? And to clarify, I mean works of art that actually sell for substantial sums of money, not that really great sketch your nephew did that you had framed and hung on your wall. Is there something about those mediums that doesn’t lend themselves to being used by professionals? Or am I just not looking in the right places? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-great-works-of-art-in-crayon/670578/2 "2013-10-07T12:07:53Z")
There are several drawings by Goya made in what would now be called crayon, but the most famous ones are black or white crayon on a grey background: those tend to be called names other than “crayon” - the first sketches for several of his wall-hanging designs were also drawn in crayon, but they’re not the finished works (they’re worth a kidney and half of the other, though, if you can find anybody willing to sell one). The specific “black and white over grey” technique is called _grisalla_ in Spanish; apparently the English term would be grisaille. “Charcoal drawings” are drawn using what amounts to black crayons; again, a specific name. ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-great-works-of-art-in-crayon/670578/3 "2013-10-07T12:42:21Z")
I have actually drawn a few pictures using children’s wax crayons (my nephew’s crayons to be precise), I’m not sure they quite fall into the catergory of fine art. [Here’s a drawing of my Nephew I managed to sneakily do whilst he was colouring-in](http://www.flickr.com/photos/104518402@N02/10136739166/). What I found is the disadvantages are: They very inaccurate when drawing as they slip (though I used thick blunt crayons, I imagine it would be easier with a sharpened thin crayon). The colours don’t blend. It’s difficult to cover the paper. The number of colours are limited If you make a mistake there’s no way to erase that mistake and it’s difficult to cover up. The advantage is that the drawings are very bold and colourful. As to why wax crayons aren’t used by serious artists very often, I imagine it is simply that the same effect can be achieved with other mediums more effectively and with greater ease. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-great-works-of-art-in-crayon/670578/4 "2013-10-07T12:57:11Z")
Traditional stone lithography is created using wax crayons. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-great-works-of-art-in-crayon/670578/5 "2013-10-07T13:02:03Z")
Crayon art [can be quite delicate and beautiful.](http://thecrayonartist.com/) ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-great-works-of-art-in-crayon/670578/6 "2013-10-07T13:11:23Z")
A friend of mine, who was a prize winning artist when he was younger, used to produce terrific crayon drawings when he was fooling around with our kids. I guess art is just art if you know how to see and know how to draw and paint. I know he used to do some serious work with colored pencils but I don’t think he ever did with crayons. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-great-works-of-art-in-crayon/670578/7 "2013-10-07T13:26:46Z")
[Here’s](http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2013/impressionist-modern-art-day-sale-n08988/lot.126.html) a May 2013 sale of a work by Henri Matisse in crayon, pen and ink that sold at Sotheby’s for $85,000. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-great-works-of-art-in-crayon/670578/8 "2013-10-07T13:31:45Z")
[Encaustic painting](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encaustic_painting) is sort of like using melted crayons. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-great-works-of-art-in-crayon/670578/9 "2013-10-07T14:11:56Z")
The 1893 original of Munch’s _[The Screa](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scream)m_ (the artist executed three more versions of the same work) is crayon (though the majority is tempera). ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-great-works-of-art-in-crayon/670578/10 "2013-10-07T14:19:47Z")
I’m not an artist, but what I’ve done is draw with the paper on a hot-plate. It eliminates the graininess you normally associate with crayons. The colors from a box of Crayolas are amazing when drawn this way, and you can experiment with mixing them. I suppose a pizza stone or frying pan would work too. I would suggest a covering it with aluminum foil to keep the wax off though and of course not have it any hotter then needed to melt the wax. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-great-works-of-art-in-crayon/670578/11 "2013-10-07T14:45:51Z")
When an _artist_ uses a wax crayon, he calls it an _oil pastel_. OK, technically not exactly the same thing, but close enough… ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-great-works-of-art-in-crayon/670578/12 "2013-10-07T14:53:21Z")
Henri de Toulouse Lautrec did a great number of works in oil pastel, and some in crayon. His style really suited the pastels. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-great-works-of-art-in-crayon/670578/13 "2013-10-07T14:56:20Z")
Moved to Cafe Society. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-great-works-of-art-in-crayon/670578/14 "2013-10-07T19:07:05Z")
Both of my parents were artists, and at one point my father did some remarkable works using “scraping down” or “sgraffito” technique. Colors are applied to the surface, which are then covered by a layer of black. Then the actual design is scratched into the black, showing the colors underneath. Since the scratching is done with a sharp instrument, the amount of detail is amazing. I’ve seen some interesting variations on this. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-great-works-of-art-in-crayon/670578/15 "2013-10-07T22:12:42Z")
Renoir used oil pastel extensively. Great for _en plein aire_ skin shading, not so great for anything else. The version of Munch’s **The Scream** that I saw in person was all crayon. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-great-works-of-art-in-crayon/670578/16 "2013-10-07T23:52:06Z")
A lot of us think of Lautrec and Daumier, etc. But if you’re not familiar with him, I also suggest [Odilon Redon](http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/odilon-redon) ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-great-works-of-art-in-crayon/670578/17 "2013-10-08T11:19:02Z")
Picasso coloured at least one [lithograph](http://www.georgetownframeshoppe.com/artwork-info/picasso/toros) in crayon - understand it was somewhat in protest, although not sure if the medium was part of the protest. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-great-works-of-art-in-crayon/670578/18 "2013-10-18T02:48:55Z")
The ‘El Crayolas Project 2005-2013’ is presently on display in the Ontario College of Art and Design University President’s Gallery. [http://www.elcrayolas.com/](http://www.elcrayolas.com/) (But it’s not what you think.) ---
**Author:** ![alphamatix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@alphamatix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphamatix)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-great-works-of-art-in-crayon/670578/19 "2013-10-18T18:13:45Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > When an _artist_ uses a wax crayon, he calls it an _oil pastel_. > > OK, technically not exactly the same thing, but close enough… There are all sorts of artists crayons of varying kinds…oil pastels are definitely one medium that come very close to feeling like regular children’s crayons. I’m guessing that commercial crayons for kids might not be very lightfast (eg. they fade over time with exposure ot sunlight) whihc might dissuade artists from using them. I have a couple of oil pastel pieces around here somewhere. They’re a bit difficult to work with. I think I developed blisters on my fingertips trying to blend colors. It’s tough getting fine details…it’s better if you work on a larger scale. ---
**Author:** ![alphamatix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@alphamatix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphamatix)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-great-works-of-art-in-crayon/670578/20 "2013-10-18T18:22:46Z")
I notice the OP mentions felt tip markers too. Prismacolor makes sets of artists’ markers. I find them incredibly difficult for true art purposes although I’m sure a google search would reveal some very good work out there. They’re great for quick and dirty presentations. I believe markers are also more prone to fading than most other media. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-great-works-of-art-in-crayon/670578.md?page=2)