Blobs and Scribbles: March 2006

Oil pastel: Autumn Fields - Work in Progress/In Arbeit 2

OK, here's my next step. (Click here for the first steps: Atumn Fields WIP 1) I started layering the colours for the fields but didn't like the result. So I blended/scraped them off with the palette knife. Then I used the knife again to smear on the stuff I had scraped off. (You with me? :-) I sort of like the effect and the idea of layering more colours on it.

I added some of the dark brown I used for the fields to the darker parts of the clouds and blended them with the greys.

I don't like the position of the house yet. I think it should go further to the right.

And I feel that at this stage the sky and the field are falling apart. Maybe more of the sky's colour should be repeated in the fields?

(click picture to enlarge)

work in progress / in Arbeit

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Got my eyes on the Senneliers ;-)

I bought four sticks of the Sennelier oil pastels yesterday. They are a lot greasier than the Neopastels. On WetCanvas.com painting with the Senneliers has been compared to painting with lipstick, wet soap or greased pigs. Can't wait to try them out :D

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Oil Pastel: Autumn Fields - Work in Progress/In Arbeit

Oil pastels on oil painting paper

Ölpastell auf Ölmalpapier

I feel quite clueless about doing landscapes in oil pastels. That's why I've now started this painting from a demo (which was originally done in gouache and soft pastels). I'm not quite sure whether I've really understood the concept of layering. Also I find it really difficult not to just blend everything in but let the different kinds of pastel marks "speak".

To start with I wanted to do an oil pastel/turp underpainting. So I blocked in the colours for the sky (light blue and jeans blue, some white near the horizon) and the fields (golden ochre).

For the second step I blended everything with turpentine. However I found the wash way too dark and thus tried to remove as much of the dissolved colour as possible with plenty of paper towels.

After that I started layering the colours for the sky.

Now, this is what happened after I had stopped wondering what I was supposed to do. I grabbed my palette knife and started to use it for blending and applying more colour.