Iris Study

Here's my experimentation with watercolor and using the pastels wet.  I'm not sure how much patience I have for watercolor lol.  After getting used to the immediacy of pastel and not needing to wait between layers, its hard to wait for the watercolor to dry before I put more on.  I also stretched my watercolor paper and still had issues with the paper wilting. :( But here it is...its a start.

Finished Paintings!!

Okay... so its been a little while.  I've been battling with my beach portrait photo.  I've been looking at it (my easel is in my dining/living room) everyday and thinking about what I want to do with it so that I don't over work it.  I'm happy with how it came out and don't think there is anything else I can do without throwing of the balance and spirit that is there.  Here it is! NuPastel and Pastel Pencil on 11x14 Pastel Paper.

The picture is not as clear as I'd like it to be but you get the drift. :)
Another photo I'm posting is a quite 20 minute 6x8 of a challenge on dailypaintworks.com.  The challenge was to do a piece based on balance.  And I figure, what's a better representation of balance than a pair of 5 inch heels?  Hope you like it.

On another note... I'm starting my first Pastel class tomorrow!!!  Actually, its my first art class since freshman year of high school.  I'm super excited about learning actual techniques and getting feedback.  Not all that excited about the teacher telling us to go get more supplies after the first class but such is life!  So I plan to bring my camera and take photos of my work as it progresses.  That way I can post what I work on and show the stages of it as I go.  Wish me luck!

New Pictures

So I have completed a few more pieces including the "Tuscan Light" piece that was partially finished in my last post.  Here she is!

Sorry for the carpet that snuck into the picture.
I also completed a "Glass Bottles" piece as well as "Orange Cat" so I'd like to show those as well.
The bottles are Nupastel on Strathmore pastel papter and the cat is Pastel Pencil on the same paper.  I am pretty pleased with how they came out.

Next on my list is to work on the human figure doing gesture drawing and such with Nupastel to practice before my open figure session that I plan on going to.  I also need to pick up some Nupastel colors that I don't have and find a different way to keep them.  The box that I have the other pastels in is just a plastic craft box with dividers but the Nupastels are starting to break whereas my soft and chalk pastels don't.  I need to find something that will be more cushioned for them or something.

The other thing I'm working on is taking pictures for my "proposed exhibition" for the art contest my coworker mentioned.  Hopefully if I can come up with a good enough proposal it will draw attention from my lack of a resume!  Wish me luck!

Pastel Pencils...Take 2

So I started working with the pastel pencils again tonight and its getting there.  Working on such a more detailed scale definitely takes longer.  I worked on a painting for 2 hours tonight and its getting there but its taking time and I'm sharpening the pencils by hand with a razor blade so that takes some time too.

I am obsessed with the Tuscan countryside right now.  I have always loved the historic and serene look of an Italian farmhouse basking in golden light.  Recreating that is hard!!  And doing it with the pastel pencils takes a while.  This is what I have so far...

So like I said, its getting there.  I'm taking my time and getting used to the pencils.

On another note, I've decided to register for this figure drawing marathon session in New Britain which goes from 9:30 to 8 p.m. on a Saturday.  I have never done figure drawing, never gone to a workshop, never spent 11 hours drawing, and haven't taken anything simulating an art class since freshman year of high school.  So we're looking at over 11 years since I had any instruction, and I don't even know if they're going to have instructors providing feedback.  I don't think I'm ready to use the pastel pencils for something like that because I don't know how long the models will pose for and am more comfortable using my Nupastels or chalk pastels.  But it should be exciting! :)

One of my coworkers gave me an entry form for a local exhibition geared toward emerging artists.  I've never tried to enter any contests or anything before so this will be interesting.  I think the hardest part of it is that they're asking for a resume and I don't have anything to write on a resume that has to do with art.  All I have is a commission piece I did in January, a drawing class I took as an elective my freshman year in high school, and most of my art in my middle school art classes was picked for display... the end.  What a sad resume!  But like I told my coworker, worst case scenario, they say "we don't want you, you suck!"  What's the harm?

Pastel Pencils

So I tried working with the Faber-Castell Pastel Pencils I got the other day.  I'll put up the picture when it's finished but wow! My wrist really hurts! Holding the pencils is completely different then holding pastel sticks.  That and the pastel pencils seem a little denser that pastel sticks.  This is good because they don't create quite as much dust and grit, and the pastel tip of the pencil doesn't break off easy.  But I think I'm going to have to work on building the muscles for these. :)