In 1921, Sakura Color Products of Osaka, Japan, formulated Cray-Pas® oil pastels with premium quality pigments, wax, and oil. Today, the finest elements continue to make up the Cray-Pas family of oil pastels. Cray-Pas Expressionist® oil pastels are the standard by which all other pastels are measured. The Expressionist colour range allows students, hobbyists, and professional artists to achieve a range of painterly effects. Expressionist oil pastels are extremely smooth to apply, can create broad strokes, and allow the user to blend colours to build texture and depth.