I’ve been eagerly learning my oil pastels and I thought I’d show you my slow progress. I’m marginally happy with one and quite unhappy with the other. The first painting I did used Hahnemühle Velour paper. This is the largest I’ve ever gone at 12″ x 16″. The paper reminds me of flocked wallpaper, you remember that stuff from the 80’s? When you touched it, it was soft, like little fibers sticking out and sheered off to make a fuzziness? Quite a cool paper, I must say. It holds the oil pastels and allows for multiple layers.
This started as a sunset then I added the black trees and foreground. The sunset worked beautifully but the trees ruined it. Now I’m using it as a throw away piece. I’ve added a bunch of thick Sennelier white oil pastel to it to see if I can layer, once again over the black. It’ll let me do some more learning without ruining another piece first. I just find the trees too chunky. I’ll have to learn a better way of handling “leafy” things.
The next piece is an abstract. Yes, this means I’ve started practicing in a new medium with TWO new subjects that I’ve never handled, landscapes and abstracts. That’s just too much newness so I’ll be going back to fruit after this, lol. I do like how this turned out but next time I’d like the linear bit in the center to be a little less… linear. And I want to leave a border around the outside so it can be handled without constantly getting one’s hands dirty. This was done on Hahnemühle oil and acrylic paper. It has a cool texture that holds onto the oil pastels but not flocked. It’s much like a very rough watercolor paper. Two cool new papers for me.
Here are some close ups to show you the texture i’m getting with the oil pastels.
Anyway, I’d love to hear what you think. Hopefully with some more practice I’ll improve. Oh and feel free to help me name the abstract. So far it’s Abstract #1, which totally sucks as a name, lol.
Tracy
I love seeing your progress with the new stuff! I actually like the sunset with the trees. I do fight with similar issues doing trees in watercolor so maybe it’s not the medium as much as just developing a feel for doing trees without trying to draw every leaf or needle? My name suggestion for the abstract: Fault Line. I kinda have the earthquakes on my mind since I’m headed to San Jose next week – which I eagerly left after going through the Loma Prieta quake trapped in an elevator in a high rise. Because the colors on the left and right of the vertical white line are visibly different, it makes the line seem like a mountain crest where two continental plates push up against each other.
Susan C
I like the sunset, too. The abstract? Well, we just can’t communicate with one another. The pastels look really creamy though, and fun to use. I like to see your experiments and play sessions.
Jean Marmo
You are really rocking these! I like your landscape. I cannot do a tree in any medium:) How about Splash of Color? I love abstracts and think you have a wonderful piece.
Cheryl
The sunset with trees are beautiful!
sandra strait
I think since the linear bit calls you (for good or bad) that you should name it Abstract in Linear Dancing. Abstract name for an abstract painting!
Teresa Robeson
I’ve not used oil pastels since grade school…but I love that texture! You’re inspiring me to give it a try. 🙂
Louise
So much fun experimenting. I love seeing your oil pastel work. We are both experimenting with this medium at the same time only I haven’t published mine on my blog. I am working smaller than you are, in a Stillman and Birn Epsilon series sketchbook. Oil pastels are not my favourite medium yet but they do allow me to be less precise and more loose in my painting. Thanks for sharing!
Lorraine
Your landscape is much like the photo I took of the sunset on Friday night here – the only view being through the trees. I think it’s beautiful.
Jennifer Rose
very pretty sunset 🙂 everything is so colourful 🙂
I haven’t used oil pastels with the Velour paper, going to have to try that now 🙂