Category: pastel

What a week: lighted candles still life

Published on by kmgunnart15 Comments

I had plans for this past week, which included participating in a short three-day art challenge with the theme “fire,” and had a virtual “seat” at another blogging symposium scheduled to start on Wednesday, along with my usual posts here.

A good start: Lavender Candles still life

Monday started off as planned, and even though I had an appointment and errands to run up in Palatka, I still came home and worked up my first piece for the art challenge, which I call Lavender Scented Candles. I often like to work on a theme-within-a-theme for these short art challenges, and this time was no different with my narrower theme being lighted candles. I had chosen three (and only three, this time) reference photos, and the only question I had Monday afternoon was which I thought I could do in a shorter time frame. I decided to work in oil pastel for the first one, and found a photo of two lit round candles on a tray, looking like those lovely lavender scented candles I so adore. (Lavender scent tends to evoke a relaxed feeling in most people.) Only two layers and a couple breaks to stretch my fingers, and it was time to put a coat of ModPodge over it so I could scan it, since oil pastel will indeed smear all over the scanner glass if not sealed with something, and ModPodge dries relatively quickly and adheres to the oil pastel in previous pieces.

Scented Lavender Candles, 9 by 12 inch oil pastel on paper, $100 USD available

I didn’t build up enough layers to cover the laid pattern on the paper, partly because I like being able to see the texture and partly because I was working to finish within the time limit of the challenge, which is one piece both started and finished in a single day. Prints are available at my Pixels store, along with a few accessories and home decor items … and of course, puzzles for the adventurous. If I had a cat-free zone, I’d totally try one of these puzzles. For the folks who like the swag over at RedBubble, here’s your link with a note that RB has added some new items like caps, pet blankets and mats, and even a pet bandana, which is triangle and doesn’t seem to go well with most of my artwork. If you want the original, and are not local to me, you can purchase it through Daily PaintWorks, which uses PayPal although now you do not need a PP account to use it. All things considered, Monday went smoothy for me, even though I had to stay up an extra half hour to wait for the ModPodge coat to dry enough to scan it and then upload it.

Needing to improvise: stylized Holiday Hope Candle

Y’all have probably already guessed Tuesday didn’t go quite so smoothly. I gessoed a 9 by 12 inch canvas with my black gesso, and lightly sketched out the main components of my planned painting with a hard graphite pencil, then began to paint with my acrylics … and got to a point where it felt like no matter what I was doing, I just could not seem to paint my way out of the Ugly Stage. Right before we went out to round up the various critters, feed them and put them up for the night, I had a stroke of inspiration. When I came back in, I pulled out a small 6 by 8 inch canvas pad that was already primed for both acrylic and oil paint, and started painting a very stylized red candle with no background other than the white primer. Less than half an hour later, I had my second piece completed and dry enough to scan and upload, and maybe even get to bed at the normal time. I call it Holiday Hope Candle, and did no shading. Prints and greeting cards are available through my Pixels store, and the RedBubble link for apparel and accessories is here. I have plans for the original now, but if you’d like to commission another one, just let me know.

Hope Holiday Candle, 6 by 8 inches acrylic on canvas, $45 USD original available

And then things got weird

This is the part where my week went all sideways on me. We had some internet troubles on Tuesday, but it was episodic and came back up, so we didn’t think much of it … until Wednesday morning when the satellite connection was completely down with no weather-related excuse for it. Hubby got on his touchscreen phone to see if there was anything about the outage in local media. He found an announcement of an upgrade for our area, then we had to figure out how to force the company’s automated phone tree to connect us with a real person in tech support to find out whether our modem was compatible with this announced upgrade. Eventually, we navigated that obstacle, and tech support said no, our reliable old modem (purchased in 2013 when we moved here) was not compatible with the upgraded system and we needed a new one, and she could schedule a contractor to come out Thursday afternoon at the earliest. I had planned to draw or paint my third piece in my candlelight series while listening to another blogging symposium on Wednesday. So much for that.

So we went through all day Wednesday and half of Thursday with absolutely no internet. Zip, zilch, nada. The contractor came out on time, got right to work, and then made sure everything worked before he left, all in a professional and competent manner. Then it was a matter of trying to get caught up on whatever we missed. I am still not caught up on reading all my email, though I did see that the blogging symposium had been delayed due to a storm knocking out the power in the city of the person putting it on, so I was not the only person having technical difficulties this week.

Since I knew I would not be able to upload anything on Wednesday, I did not do my third piece. I was frustrated and out of sorts, so hubby put on an audio book to entertain us and I tried to play video games while listening and providing a lap for my cats. This seems to be a bad habit I do, giving up and walking away (sometimes literally) when I know it won’t get the result I desire. I need to work on this, and I think I will do that this weekend and finish my candlelight challenge even though the deadline has passed. I had been saving the best reference photo for last, and while I haven’t decided whether to do it in oil pastel or watercolor, I would like to have a third one for the series.

Feature Friday ought to return next week – some of those emails I have not read yet are from the blogs I read, and rather than try to rush anything, I’ll just get back on track and back in the saddle next week. Who knows – I may have a new and appropriate drawing by then as well.

The green challenge and the elephant ear plant

Published on by kmgunnart14 Comments

Continuing my self-audit of artwork created versus art pieces blogged, I find myself missing yet another of last summer’s art challenges, the green challenge and the elephant ear plant in my pasture. I meant to write about these last autumn, but apparently it just slipped my mind once “new project fever” swept up my last two working brain cells. I tend to get the new project fever in some rather big doses.

So, let’s travel back in time to July of 2021, which would put us after the flamingo series but prior to the blue-feathered bird series (which starts with the hyacinth macaw painting – I really need to do a roundup of that series and revisit those paintings with a fresh eye). It was another short challenge, with the theme “green,” and I just happen to have the perfect plant model that regrows each year in the goat pasture. Before the challenge started, I was out back with my old Kodak EasyShare digicam (I certainly got my $109 USD worth out of that thing!) to get reference photos of what my husband and I call the elephant ear plant for obvious reasons.

my elephant ear plant, likely a Xanthosoma species and the inspiration for the green challenge
my elephant ear plant in midmorning sun in the pasture

Since I was curious what its real name is (the plant was already here when we bought this place) I posted in a local Facebook group to see what it might be. Answers came in ranging from colocasia to taro to a xanthosoma species, and when I went researching what the differing names, I decided my specimen looks most like Xanthosoma roseum. (Edit: it may be Xanthosoma sagittifolium, which is native to the south of us and this one might have been brought up a county or two.) The largest leaves are often 18-20 inches long, and we sometimes joke about it being an escapee from the set of Jurassic Park.

The artwork

The first piece I did is similar to the above photo/snapshot, and I worked it in soft pastel (aka my “dusties”) on a blue sheet of Canson Mi Tientes paper, which I am still not enamored with except to use with colored pencil. Overall, I feel I got the shape right, but was hoping it would be brighter in the high key values (highlights) than it turned out. It isn’t awful, but I was hoping for it to be a bit more … just a bit more. The original is 9 by 12 inches, heavy paper, and lightly sprayed with fixative. Prints in larger and smaller sizes are also available at my Pixels store, and here it is on RedBubble apparel and accessories.

Xanthosoma in Morning Sun, soft pastel on paper
Xanthosoma in Morning Sun, 9 by 12 inches, soft pastel on paper, $100 USD original available

For the second day of the green challenge, I decided to zoom in on one leaf of the plant, because it really is a fun-to-draw shaped leaf (like Monstera species). I also decided to switch media and pulled out my oil pastels and the oil-primed practice paper, also a Canson product and one I like using. This piece captured the brightness I was hoping to achieve, and honestly it looks almost as if it is glowing. I so enjoy that about oil pastels – if you want serious, saturated COLOR, you can do it with the oilies. The original is also 9 by 12 inches, which is my favorite size for drawing and sketching, and it is sealed with ModPodge, which really works great for oil pastel work. Prints in larger or smaller sizes are available at my Pixels store, as are 500 and 1000 piece puzzles for those who love a good challenge and don’t have cats to “help” them with all the pieces. RedBubble swag is here.

Elephant Ear Leaf, oil pastel on primed paper
Elephant Ear Leaf, 9 by 12 inches oil pastel on primed paper, $100 USD original available

For some reason that I cannot recall, I dropped out of the green challenge after this second piece, despite having a good half a dozen more reference photos already chosen and cropped and still in a folder on my computer labeled “green.” Since yellow fly season has started here, I will be spending the majority of daylight hours hiding in the house from those vicious biting monsters that seem to wait outside my door for both of us, which means I will have plenty of time to “art it up,” as hubby says, and maybe this summer I’ll blog more of the results.

Goldfish in oil pastel

Published on by kmgunnart1 Comment

 I did this piece as a test of a new set of Mungyo Gallery oil pastels along with a new DVD art lesson on how to use oil pastels effectively. As I followed the instructions and sketched out the goldfish with my new oil pastels, I quickly realized the beauty of the lines and colors, and decided to finish it into a completed painting.

A vivid and colorful goldfish changing direction effortlessly and gracefully in the blue water, its scales seem to change from a deep gold to a fiery orange. This is not a complex piece of art, but elegant in its simplicity.

spotted goldfish in blue background to simulate water, worked in oil pastel
Goldfish, 11 x 14 inch oil pastel on paper, prints available

My mother has claim on the original piece, which is oil pastel on 14 by 11 inch primed paper and sealed with Mod Podge to prevent smudging.  She also has a watercolor I tried to do of this image, but made a mistake on and my husband refused to use it as a fire starter for our woodburning stove. Mom agreed with hubby, so I gave her that, along with my first ever oil painting, of the exact same subject on flat canvas. Mom complained that I did not sign either the watercolor or the oil paint pieces, so I promised her this one after ensuring it has a legible signature and date.

Prints are available through my Pixels store, and shirts and accessories through my RedBubble shop. Update: RedBubble has started offering pet mats, and one is in a general fish shape, intended for cats. I love it! It appeals to my (probably corny) sense of cute.

image of my oil pastel artwork Goldfish on a fish-shaped mat for cats
My oil pastel painting Goldfish on fish-shaped cat mat

Red Rose in oil pastel

Published on by kmgunnart1 Comment

A vibrant red rose in bloom against a grey-blue background, with the brilliant green of the leaves and stem catching the light.  Done in oil pastel on an 11 by 14 inch canvas panel, this was only my second big oil pastel piece.  The oil pastel on the canvas makes an interesting optical effect, and gives it almost a 3D look.

The Red Rose in oil pastel

single red rose in oil pastel
Red Rose 1, oil pastel on 11 x 14 inch canvas panel, original available $140 USD

Links to purchase this artwork

Original is available, locally or through Daily PaintWorks which uses PayPal for the transaction.  Prints in various different sizes can be ordered through my Pixels store, while accessories and swag can be found at my RedBubble store.

Plans for more roses worked in oil pastel

I really like the overall effect of the rose in oil pastel, but had not yet worked out how to get the colors close enough to avoid the white outline. While I plan to do more red roses in the oil pastel medium, I would like to do them larger … like maybe 18 x 24 inches, as I now have the panels. The downside of working so big will be that I won’t be able to scan them for prints as my scanner only goes up to 11 x 17 inches. I also have 12 x 16 inch oil primed paper, which I can scan with only half on inch off (which will make the original different than prints).

Of course, there are many more colors of roses to draw and paint as well. I personally love pink and yellow roses, even more so than the red ones. There is also the challenge of doing a white rose in color, as I’ve only done those in black and white.

Blooming Pink Rose in oil pastel

Published on by kmgunnart1 Comment

This technically-a-drawing* of a pink rose was my first project using oil pastels on black canvas paper.  It scanned nicely, but like oil paint, oil pastel just looks better in person.  There is a quality to the work that neither camera nor scanner is able to convey, which is one reason I am announcing that this (along with Red Tulips and Electric Yellow Rose) are going to El Amigo Restaurant in Crescent City for local display later today.  I should probably note that artwork on display is also for sale if anyone wishes to purchase the originals. 

Mockup of oil pastel drawing Blooming Pink Rose in a white frame on a light green wall, which complements the vibrant pink.
mockup of Blooming Pink Rose in a white frame on a green wall

If you are out of the local area, you can purchase originals through Daily PaintWorks, which uses PayPal.  For those who want prints, including in larger or smaller sizes, those can be purchased through my Pixels store, and for those who like accessories like apparel, mugs, or a clock can buy that through my RedBubble store.

bright pink rose in oil pastel on black canvas paper
Blooming Pink Rose, 9 by 12 inch oil pastel on black canvas paper, original available

* I define a drawing as anything where the original surface is still visible, while a painting has the entire surface – whether paper or canvas – completely covered with the medium (watercolor, pastel, etc.)

Oil pastel notes

As is probably obvious from the scan, I did not blend my oil pastels as well as usual. Instead I was trying for a looser and fresher, more spontaneous look to this piece. I was still experimenting with this medium, and even though blending can be a very important factor in oil pastel paintings, I wanted more a drawing feel to it (if that makes sense). I’ll also note that the original drawing is sealed with Mod Podge to prevent smearing (and cat paw prints!).

Rose drawing notes

Just a few relevant notes for this: I used a reference photo, and to be honest I don’t recall which one. I have a folder full to bursting of reference photos for roses, and will crop and edit them as needed and sometimes forget which went into what drawing or painting. But the reference photos serve one major purpose for me, and that is to grid out the petals, which is what I did for this one. The second reason I use ref photos is to get the shadows right. I can’t even say for sure the rose in the photo I used is even a pink one, because part of holding an artistic license is the privilege of changing a flwoer’s color when I want.