Themed Art Challenge

Hey, I did one! "Furry friends" was the November-December challenge. I don't do critters, so this really was a challenge.

Here is my effort. Neopastel oil pastels, on Arches oil paper, with some Mungyos and Senneliers in there. The background is oil pastel over "hard" soft pastel (Nupastel), just because I was playing around and ended up liking the way it blended. I used a scraping tool to dig in on the right side and scrape back lines, for some texture.



Not really sure if I even like this one, but the hubby has been really taken with it. In that regard, I'll call it good.

 

Darn I forgot and missed it! Very cute cat Terri.

 

Don't feel bad - so have I. It hink I'm still trying to juggle too much, especially this month.

At least I'm off next week so I can try to get something done - I have new paints.

 

Quick sketch and pastels. I really don't like it, and I may redo it in a larger format, and actually take the time to smooth out the color instead of leaving it look like chicken-scratch crayon. 5.5" x 8.5", oil pastel on Canson 98 lb. mixed media paper.

 

It's a cute sketch of a panda bear! You can't go wrong.

Sorry for the file size, I have a new phone and can't find the resize in the photo editor. Grrr....

Anyway, these clay shapers are quick and easy ways to smooth out oil pastels when you want to.

 

For the next theme, let's play with value instead of color: Monochromatic. Since we have lost almost half of January, and February is a couple days short, Lets run this from now through March.

 

Sooooo cute!! You did this on your ipad? Wow. Very nice.

 

Okay - monochromatic! I decided to use an image ref, since I couldn't seem to come up with anything I liked. I chose Caravaggio's Medusa and, because of the violent nature of this painting, thought that red would work the best. I used my usual 12x16" Arches Oil paper, but squared it off to roughly 12x12. It's an odd circular painting, supposedly the artist's nod to the Greek mythology tale that Perseus, who decapitated this Gorgon turned monster, used a round shield to help do the deed. Caravaggio also used his own face in the original, supposedly to suggest that he was impervious to her gaze that turned mortals to stone. (These Greeks didn't play around.)

I used a dinner plate to get a circle that would fit the paper.

Here's my little girl:



I had a great time with this. Here's the palette, all van Gogh oil pastels (except the B&W ones, used to help modify the values):




That link to the painting shows a version that has cut off the bottom, where the blood is gushing around a couple more snakes. Not the best, but it gives the idea.