Pick me up

I started this oil pastel painting more than a year ago. I did the faces and then got frustrated and put it away.

I was looking through my paintings today and came across this unfinished painting. I looked at it and thought, "this is almost done!"

So I loosely put in the rest of the painting keeping everything soft so the focus stays on the faces.

It is amazing how looking at something with a fresh eye can help overcome what had been an obstacle.

  Pick me up, oil pastel on paper, 9x12"

Tip-toe through Tulips

This was from photo references from this weekends WDE at Wetcanvas.com hosted by Valri Ary.

I combined a photo of the tulip fields in Washington state with a mother and daughter walking.

With the school bus in the tulip field drawing, it just seemed to need people tip-toeing through. However, I've been told that the tulip farm has signs posted about not walking in the rows! I guess they better get to the bus quickly!

 8x10", oil pastel on paper

Technorati Tag: [art] [articles] [photos] [pastel]

Beginner's Lessons 3 -Some oil pastel Q & A

How do you handle white?

I use the Sennelier lights on top for highlights because they are soft and will sit on top of other colors. This is easier if you allow the OP painting to “set” overnight.

If it's a large area, I will "reserve" it by putting down a white or light first (any brand). Because whatever color goes down first stains the paper. That way, if you put down a dark on top, you can scrape back to the light and then use a harder brand white to refine the area.
How do you blend OPs?

I blend my OPs with  a color blender tool, a paper towel, a rag or my finger. You could also use a tortillion.

I also like to blend using another color.

If I want to really spread it out like for an underpainting, I spread Weber's Res-N-Gel Quick Drying Extender Gel over it with a rag or paper towel.
How do you get details?

One way is to use Walnut Hollow oil pencils (found around here in the woodworking section of Michael’s craft store).

Another way is to put some oil pastel on the end of a color blender or tortillion.
Do Oil pastels ever dry? How do you frame it?

They do not dry and therefore do not crack like oil paint can. They do however, harden a bit over time. Since they do not dry, they must be protected when framed. The easiest way to protect an oil pastel painting is to frame it with glass and a mat. (The mat keeps the glass from touching the painting.) There are other ways to frame without glass but they are more involved. I'll go into them at a later date.

Potted Garden –Demo

  “Potted Garden” 8x10”

Continuing to work in the style I did yesterday on the Georgia Screenhouse.

This was painted in the morning. I had to keep moving my pochade box with my painting on it to keep the sun off the painting. Since I didn’t start painting until about 10:30am, the sun and shadows were moving rapidly. I decided this painting was done when I’d back all the way up to the house and had no where else to move!

What follows are a few of the steps that went into making this painting.

First I sketched a simple outline with a light blue oil pencil (made by Walnut Hollow).

Then I squinted to figure out where the major lights and darks were. And scribbled them in with oil pastels.

Then I put some Res-N-Gel on a paper towel  and spread the color out evenly.

After that I built up the colors I saw, trying to remember where the shadows were when I started. On things outside of my focal area, I kept blending with my finger or a paper towel to keep things soft and out of focus.

By the time my back was to the wall, this is what I had. I particularly like the way the pink and light green Coleus plant came out.

Georgia Screenhouse

  “Georgia Screenhouse” 8x10”

This is a plein air (on location) painting I did while in Georgia. It is a screened in greenhouse rather than a glassed in one. It is surrounded by blooming Camellia bushes.

This was a break-through painting for me in a number of ways. A lot of what I’ve been studying and reading recently just seemed to come together. Things like:

Hard & soft edges,

Layering,

Simplifying.

Also after painting in the airport, I wasn’t intimidated by painting outside.

Delayed at O’Hare

On a trip to Atlanta, I had a carry-on bag filled with my painting supplies. I got the airport the requested 2 hours early and got to the gate to find out that we were delayed another 2 hours.

I looked at my bag and thought “Why not?”

Finding a seat near a pillar so no one would walk too close, I set up my tripod and pochade box (paint box).

I spoke a bit with the people seated next to me. And one of the gate agents came over to see what I was painting. But other than that, I was in an extremely crowded airport and no one paid any attention to me. At least none that I’m aware of.

I began painting the gateway door and window with the plane beyond. In front of the window was a woman sitting very still reading a book. Perfect! A model who didn’t move!

  “Waiting at O’Hare”

When I was almost done, the woman in the painting got up to leave. The lady sitting next to me caught her attention and said to look at what I’d done.

The woman was thrilled that I’d painted her and ended up taking a photo of both of us with the painting. It turned out she was an artist herself, a nature photographer. Beautiful work on her business card.

Road to Snowdon

The photo this painting is based on is from the English countryside. All the knobby trees and the curving path going from dark into light appealled to me. There was a man standing there with his hands clasped behind his back. Having him sweeping a welcoming gesture toward us to continue down the path seemed much more appropriate.







This painting was based on a reference photo in this  weekend's WDE on WetCanvas.com hosted by silverflagon.

Painting to auction

I dropped my painting "Summer Buddies" off at the animal shelter.

http://orphansofthestorm.org/



Their fund-raising dinner and silent auction is next weekend.

I have my fingers crossed that the painting get a nice money donation for them.

Beginner’s Lesson 2 – What to draw/paint on

In the title I wrote draw/paint. I did this because oil pastels can be used to create a colored line drawing or a full painting. They are wonderfully versatile.

I basically use a few types of surfaces (also referred to as grounds) to paint oil pastels. If I want a smooth surface I will use Bristol Vellum drawing paper which is a heavy, slightly textured paper. If I want a textured surface I will either use canvas panels or Frederix canvas sheets (Do not use watercolor canvas. The oil pastel will wipe right off this special canvas.) I also occasionally use cold-pressed 140-lb. watercolor paper (hot-pressed is smoother). Which one I use depends on the look I want to achieve and my mood.

If I am using a sheet of paper or sheet of canvas, I will put it in a sketching clipboard to hold it in place.

This photo shows a sheet of paper on the clipboard and some of my Senneliers.

Beginner's Lesson 1 – Grades of Oil Pastels

There are 2 major categories of Oil Pastels: student grade and professional grade.

The most obvious difference between the two is price with student grades as low as US$0.14 per stick to artist grades around US$3.00 per stick.

In this photo, the Loew-Cornell are student grade at about US$0.14 each stick (sold in sets.)

The other two are mid-price artist grade.The Van Gogh sell for about US$0.60-$1.00 each stick. (sold in sets or Open Stock. Open stock means sold individually.)

Cray Pas makes 2 grades of oil pastels. The Expressionist (student grade) and the Specialist (artist grade, shown above.) The Specialists sell for about US$0.90-$1.80 each stick.

A high-price artist grade like Sennelier sells for about US$1.25-$3.00 per stick (sold in sets or Open Stock.) Price ranges are what I see them selling for today and the cost difference between regular price and sale price.

What causes the price difference between grades? The student grade can have more wax and less mineral oil holding the stick together. This higher wax content causes the stick to have a harder consistency. The student grade also can have less quality and quantity of pigment and possibly be less light-fast (this last I have not checked into.)

Within each grade, difference brands behave differently.

If a student grade is what your budget can afford, try a few different brands if you are not happy with the feel of the first brand you try.

Three on a Popsicle

Three on a Popsicle, 8x9” oil pastel on canvas



I have been reading a lot about edges. How when an eye focuses on something, that something is in focus with sharp edges and high contrast. But everything else is slightly blurred with soft edges between colors and shapes. And that an artist can use that to guide a viewer into the painting.

So I have tried the concept with this painting. Only my focal point has sharp edges and high contrast. Can you guess what the focal point is?



This was adapted from a WetCanvas WDE photo by bjcpaints.

Self-Portrait: End of the Day

I’ve always found that the better I know a person the harder it is to do a portrait of that person. It seems that my mind “knows” what the person looks like rather than letting my eyes “see” the person. And I end up struggling and not being able to get a likeness.

So I’m doing a self-portrait to work on this issue since I am the one person I have the most pre-conceived notions about and really truly “see” the least.

In keeping with the looser style of painting I’ve been doing lately, I just did a minimal sketch and then began laying down patches of color.

I did this from a mirror rather than a photo. If I’d used a photo, I would have gone through them until I found one that I looked good in. Instead I used the mirror and got what I got, forcing me to really look.






It does look like me a little but some of those preconceived notions did come through like the forehead is far too tall and the eyes are a bit too deep and too blue.



Also, since I was using a mirror, every time I looked at the paper and looked back up I had to reposition my model. So I think the face came out a bit narrow.



But overall for a first effort, not too bad but definitely room for improvement.


9x12” oil pastel on paper