My oil pastel work

[terri]

I see what you mean about the blending, but I like the poppy. Starry Night is darn good, IMO.

Thank you, Charlie.

You know how it is when you look at some of your older photos, and all you can see are your technical (or other) errors? That's what this thread is doing for me. But since I'm able to see them, at least that means I've developed a better feel for this.

Your ink work, watercolors, and now soft pastels...you play with a lot more media than I do.

Have you ever heard of Nupastels? Prismacolor makes them - and I only know Prismacolor for their wax pencils. Another oil pastel artist (whose stuff is amazing!) does all his underpaintings/sketches using Nupastels. They are a *hard* version of soft pastels, i.e., chalk. This artist gave me some step by step instructions, and they really do make a nice base coat. You have to coat them with a workable fixative spray to seal it before reaching for the oil pastels.

Given your mention of soft pastels, I'm curious if you've ever used them.

I haven't heard of them, but I'll look at them. I have some of the Prismacolor standard colored pencils and a set of the watercolor pencils that i haven't opened, yet - I'm waiting to finish off the Derwents I have.

I started with oils, as a kid, though remember having some pastels at one point, and I've have done some work with Conte; a lot of charcoal in the art classes. When I decided to take it up again after a number of years, I decided against oil and gravitated towards acrylic and watercolor. The pen and ink is really just an extension of the interest in fountain pens. At Maryland I took a traditional Chinese calligraphy course for my cultural diversity requirement.

I have craft-store branded hard pastels - chalk-like square sticks. I'll probably get some oil/soft pastels later.

Ok, your description of the hard, square pastels sounds like the Nupastels, likely more affordable. I agree it's hard to get more of the same thing when you already have a brand.
I do like trying different OP brands, tho. There's a wide variety of quality out there.

 

[terri]

Your "starry night" and "street corner" are fantastic. I love Van Gogh and the impressionists.

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Me too! Thanks for the kind words!

 

[terri]

That portrait is awesome!

Thank you, Wade! It was fun to work through.

 

[terri]

One of my favorite artistic styles is Tonalism, which is uniquely American. It is mainly identifiable by the darker, moodier palettes used by artists like James Whistler (Whistler's Mother - the unofficial, more famous name of a painting called Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1 - is a Tonalist painting). I have a real appreciation for Tonalism because it is really hard to do - often dark, limited palettes of grays, purples, browns and blues.

Here are a few of the ones I used as learning exercises. These are all from Charles Warren Eaton, who sometimes used brighter colors, which I like.

Hint - his are all much better. You should check him out!

This is my attempt at his painting Sunset Pines, done with my Mungyo oil pastels on Arches Oil paper:

Another one, done on the same paper, called Silence of the Night:

And a personal favorite that I just had to try because it was so freaky, and very liberating to paint it, Sunset Trees:

I did the above on cheap green construction paper. The original oil painting has thick textural lines of paint running through it, all those vertical lines - I just gravitate to it.

He was among the best in Tonalism, IMO, though other artists, like Whistler, George Inness, and John Twachtman were more popular in the movement. Their landscapes are beautiful and moody.

 

[SquarePeg]

You’ve got some talent there lady!

 

[terri]

Thanks, Sharon! Of course the real talent lies with the original artist - but I am learning to copy well.

Copying masters is a fun way to learn a medium. Oil pastels seem so straightforward, but the little suckers don't behave the way I thought they would. Draw a line, and watch then feather out into the paper. Not clean or sharp. You're leading the stick one way, and the tip wears down enough to slightly alter the line unevenly. It was maddening in the beginning to get used to handling them.

If your daughter wants to keep playing with them, make sure she has a decent student grade. Super cheap OP's aren't even worth the few bucks you lay out for them. I think that's why a lot of artists don't like OP's. Unlike working with regular painting oils, a cheaper brand isn't going to work well and you'll start to think they are just not worth the trouble. All OP's are made from pigment, oil and wax. Better brands have less wax, cheap brands have lots of it, which makes them flake off, crumble, or feel too hard to blend into the paper with other colors. When you pick up a stick of a better brand, it's just a night/day difference.

 

[snowbear]

Another great set of OPs, Terri.

In artist supplies, like most everything , you tend to get what you pay for. Cheaper paints may not have adequate transparency and color control may not be as consistent. Cheap brushes don't stand up and will lose their shape and lose hairs.

 

[terri]

Another great set of OPs, Terri.

In artist supplies, like most everything , you tend to get what you pay for. Cheaper paints may not have adequate transparency and color control may not be as consistent. Cheap brushes don't stand up and will lose their shape and lose hairs.

Thanks, Charlie!

About brushes, you make an interesting point. I don't think I'd know a good quality brush if it bit me on the nose. I don't think I've ever bought one that didn't lose hairs. I don't use brushes a lot but the prices seem expensive. It's also confusing to a novice like me that the sizes seem to vary from company to company - like, there's not a standard #2 or 6, for example. Another reason I respect what people like you can do with watercolors as well as oils - it's not just the mediums that intimidate me, but these variances with tools of the trade are confusing. All I use with OP's are paper stumps/tortillons, and various clay shapers. Pretty low-tech. Me likey.

 

[snowbear]

I haven't paid that close of attention between makers - I shop in person and look at the brush: "That one's about 1/4" and flat, so I'll get it."

 

[terri]

I haven't paid that close of attention between makers - I shop in person and look at the brush: "That one's about 1/4" and flat, so I'll get it."

Spoken like someone who knows his way around watercolors and painting!

 

[snowbear]

Unfortunately, I haven't mastered any of them. I just need to spend more time on the art, less on the other stuff.
Maybe in the next career.

 

[terri]

Unfortunately, I haven't mastered any of them. I just need to spend more time on the art, less on the other stuff.
Maybe in the next career.

I haven't mastered any task except going to bed.

 

[terri]

Here's another instance where I attempted to make something better from a fail. I came across this Polaroid image transfer that I'd done years ago. Thought I'd trashed it, really. I consider it a failure because it's so blocked up in the corner right, center, and the sky is mottled looking - clearly I applied too much pressure with the brayer, and the water might have been too warm (though the former is more likely, since I kept a thermometer at hand for this process). Meh.

Still, enough detail came through to make me want to keep it, I suppose. Anyway, I thought it would be a fun reference for an oil pastel painting. I clearly didn't waste any time trying to make anything look real. It was a fun exercise.

 

[vintagesnaps]

Cool stuff!

Cray-pas?? That's what came to mind which I remember in school, I took all the art I could as electives. But maybe those are a 'student' version!

 

[terri]

Cool stuff!

Cray-pas?? That's what came to mind which I remember in school, I took all the art I could as electives. But maybe those are a 'student' version!

Thanks, Sharon. Good memory! I love my Cray-Pas. They're made by Sakura. You can get the step-above student grade Cray-Pas Expressionist, and the true artist grade Cray-Pas Specialist. I have sets of both and, for my money, I prefer the Expressionists. Sure, they're harder, a tad crumbly - but they're terrific for a base layer. Or just fooling around with an idea in a sketchbook, whatever. There's a real student grade, a kid brand, Juniors ? or something, so Expressionists aren't the lowest of the student grades.

Good thing about using student grade OPs for base layers is that any step up in quality, regardless of brand, is generally going to have more oil and glide right over them. Great way to build layers without using your more expensive ones.