This week I've been working on a fun new piece...flowers and an adorable puppy!
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Lhasa Help in the Garden
11" x 14" oil pastel on rag board |
I painted this with Sennelier oil pastels on a sand colored rag board. I continued experimenting with underpainting in water soluble pastels. Instead of priming the entire board in a darker color (my usual pastel primer in terracotta or aubergine), I toned the board with water soluble pastels and made a wash with water to begin to lay in the colors of the piece.
I picked up a set of 12 Lyra Polycrayons last year for less than $5, so I thought I would give them a try here. They worked pretty well, though next time I will use the Caran d'Ache Neocolor II crayons to see which I prefer.
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Lyra Polycrayons |
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| Neocolor II Pastels |
This technique helped me leave more texture from the pastel, and avoid blending the colors too much. I have a tendency to "smoosh" (a technical term, I'm sure) the colors around too much and make for a muddy painting. Often I do the same with paints, scumbling like crazy and wearing down my paintbrushes.
Underpainting with pastels also helps me to fine-tune the proportions before I go in with the o/p's, which are harder to remove if adjustments need to be made.
This painting is pretty much finished. I just have to let the pastels set a bit before I go back into a few areas: the hands and the dog. I may finish it tonight, but probably not until Monday since I'll be getting ready for our mini jaunt to the BEACH tomorrow!
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Morehead
oil pastel on suede board |
Some sea and sand paintings coming soon... stay tuned!
