Pastel drawings

I've been having fun playing with my pastels.  Here are a couple of small sketches I did.   The persimmon and blue bottle is done on canson paper,  I made a similar oil painting of that one too.  The oak leaf,cranberries and persimmon is on Strathmore tan paper, which I would also like to try a painting of.

Experimenting with pastels

 

I've started taking a pastel class, and so at home I've been experimenting with different papers and techniques to see which I like best. 

 So far I've tried Sennelier La Carte paper, it's a nice heavy paper, and comes in a variety of nice colors, but the surface coating will desolve if wet, just a drop of water will ruin it.  

I have a little pad of Sennelier "l'Esprit du Pastel". It's a nice little spiral pad with a sheet of glassine between each page, but the lined texture is a bit distracting for me.  As an experiment, I tried coating it with some Golden Acrylic ground for pastels.  This is a thick solution that dries clear, containing a fine grit that you can brush on any surface to give it a sanded texture.  I liked working on this paper better with the ground applied. 

I also tried Colorfix sanded paper,  lots of nice colors, it can be used with wet techniques, and the texture holds the pastel nicely.  

Mi-Tientes Touch paper has a texture I don't care for, but comes in many colors just like the Canson Mi-tientes paper, which I like, I prefer the smoother side to work on.  

Uart sanded paper is the one I like best so far, I used a wash of red pastel wet with water and a brush, and when dry drew over it, that worked out nicely.  It only comes in one color, a light sand color, but it's possible to tone it yourself any color you want, and comes in many different 'grits' I tried the 400, 600, and 800, they are all nice to work on.

The pastels I've been using are a collection I've acquired over the years of Rembrandt, and Sennelier soft pastels, NuPastel sticks, CarbOthello, and Conte pastel pencils.

I'm no expert, but thought I would share my opinions, I hope you might find it helpful:)

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

Figure drawing

Still learning and enjoying the challenge of figure drawing... The drawings are done on 18x 24 paper

I'm having a few issues with my computer, so I am using my iPad to post this, hopefully it appears ok on the blog page.

Thanks for taking the time to stop and view my artwork!

Drawing and experimenting with egg tempera

From time to time I come across paintings online that are done with egg tempera.  I have read about how to go about making it, but I have never tried it until now.  Following instructions online,  I used tubed gouache paint in place of powdered pigment,  and the egg yolk and water mixture to create the egg tempera paint.  I really liked the velvety smoothness of the paint, and love the feel of it as I painted it on.  The paper I used is a cream colored Stonehenge paper.  I think I would like this manner of painting, as it is not painting in broad strokes or pushing paint around... it is more linear, like drawing, swiftly making lines with it, cross hatching or scumbling... it dries very quickly, and then it's ready for another layer.  As I read about it more, I see that it would take much practice, and patience, but the luminous quality of the paint makes it appealing to do.  The only drawback would be mixing fresh egg medium, and mixing the paint each painting session.  It dries on the palette quickly too... But it is so much prettier than the mat gouache paint.  

Here is my quick little study of marigolds....

Drawing and painting flowers

I spent some time yesterday drawing a pansy, and today I did a poppy and rose.  I first drew with pencil, then lightly painted with watercolor, and finished with some colored pencil.  There are so many flowers blooming right now, and I love studying, and sketching them.

Drawing and Watercolor

rose buds and leaves on 5x7 natural color Stonehenge paper

 I sat outside the other day and practiced drawing and watercoloring a few leaves and flowers....

9x12 Arches hot press w/c paper

Peony bud and leaves, and acorn...  5x7 Stonehenge paper, natural color

(don't know why this pic came through rotated on end, it's the only one I took with my phone, maybe something to do with that)

In the last pic, I'm holding a chive flower and starting to paint in my drawing of it.   It was a lovely day outside and I loved doing these little detailed drawings of the found objects in my backyard.  It gave me a renewed interest in botanical art, and I've been spending time practicing.  I love watercolor, and every so often I come back to try it again.

Pencil drawing on w/c paper

I used a sheet of arches hot press watercolor paper that I had toned with  a wash of gray w/c to do this drawing on, with pencil and white chalk.  It made a very nice surface to draw on.  I added the little vine at the end for fun. 

Easter Lily drawing

A study of my Easter lily, drawn in pencil and white chalk on 9x12 inch  Canson paper,  from a pad of Canson Mi Teintes pastel paper, in gray tones.  This color is "Pearl".

Pencil drawing on 9x12 blue Canson paper

I spent most of the day working on a painting that I'm having alot of trouble with, and I didn't get much done.  So, tonight I spent some time relaxing and drawing, and I'm happy with this little pencil drawing of a little blue bottle, pear and bananas.  Maybe I'll try to do a painting of this next chance I get. 

More figure drawing...

This is one of my drawings from today's figure drawing class.  It was an hour pose with a break after 30 minutes.  I've been experimenting with different drawing media, I started this with graphite sticks, switched to charcoal and finished with pencil.  It is on 18 x 24 white drawing paper. 

Figure Drawing Class

A few warm up gesture drawings, 1 min poses, and a longer 30 min pose.

Both on 18x24 newsprint.

This class has been a lot of fun