"Lainie" - ACEO original oil pastel portrait

I love to do these tiny art pieces (3.5 in x 2.5 in) - and although they are so small, they really do take a good amount of work.  Lainie was a model at one of the life drawing groups and was so good at holding a pose.  Being a model is tough work - I know this because when the model doesn't show up, the attendees are usually pressed into service!

For this one, I used mostly Sennelier oil pastels plus some Caran d'Ache Neopastels on Strathmore illustration board - all completely archival.   Thank you for visiting my blog!

Flamenco #17 - original oil pastel drawing

Here's a quick drawing that I loved doing on 12 x 9" Strathmore mixed media toned blue paper, using Sennelier oil pastels.  Nothing like the movements of dancers and the fun of my attempts to capture them!  Of course there's a lot of memory drawing whether dancers or bull riders or athletes because the "pose" is quickly and constantly changing.  I'm such a believer in life drawing whether it's long poses or gestures  and I do it every chance I get.  

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Thanksgiving y'all!

  

Seated Nude on Blue - original oil pastel figurative

I began this drawing with a graphite pencil and then worked on it with Sennelier oil pastels and a few Caran d'Ache on Strathmore 8 x 6"mixed media paper.  Didn't do a lot of blending and and finishing (obviously) - just left it pretty raw which is kind of my favorite thing.  Loved her sort of dreamy expression.  Thanks for stopping by!

A Winter Day - original oil pastel portrait painting

I think everyone in Texas is sick of winter - especially what this winter has brought.  We were lucky, but I know so many weren't!  Texas just isn't set up for merciless temps and failures of the power grid.  Closed up inside, I was able to do lots of drawings and other artwork and here is one from those days.  It is, of course, made from a photo I took early in the winter with our first little snowfall, never dreaming what was to come.  

This one is on 12 x 9" Pastel Premier paper, using mostly Sennelier oil pastels, some Caran d'Ache and Cray-pas Specialists.  She was standing in front of one of our pecan trees with the branches almost touching the ground.  Thanks for stopping by!
 

Krista on Black Paper - original oil pastel portrait

Strathmore's black mixed media paper is such a perfect support for oil pastel, which is what I used for this piece.  Drawing a model seated in a chair while I was perched on a barstool isn't the usual arrangement,  but it worked so maybe I'll use this set-up in the future.  I did some smoothing with my finger on this one, and maybe could have done more, but I do like strokes to show at least a bit.  Using black paper here with my Senneliers, but I also love Strathmore's blue mixed media - haven't tried the gray, but I will soon.  Am going to give the gray a try with my Caran d'Ache pastel pencils.  These pencils are expensive, but they are worth it! This little painting is about 5 x 5".  Thanks for looking!
 

Looky What I Got Yesterday!

I splurged a little and bought several CrayPas Specialists, some Caran d'Ache Neopastels and a few of my usual Senneliers.  So exciting for an oil pastelist!  I like to use Caran d'Ache lime green for glazing skin and decided to try a lot of other colors for that purpose just to see how it works out.  Much fun ahead!