"Zara in a Peasant Blouse" - original oil pastel figurative

More fun for me - a few minutes with this young woman and her colorful outfit.  The black lines that outline the figure are from a General Pencil Company Peel and Sketch charcoal pencil - I loosely filled in the drawing with Caran d'Ache and Sennelier oil pastels.  The paper is Stonehenge and is about 5 1/2 x 4 1/2".  This quick little drawing is a perfect illustration of why it's good to always have a few art supplies at hand.  You never know when something good will turn up!  I might not have used charcoal and oil pastel together in this case (although I have used this combination in other pieces) but it's what I had in my bag, so I just went with it.  I love spur-of-the-moment art!💖 Thanks for stopping by my blog!
 

Lee's Daughter - original oil pastel portrait drawing

This study of a young woman who posed ever so briefly was done on 7 x 5" carton board from Judson Art Outfitters or Amazon.  I love working on this stuff - give it a try.  Thanks for stopping by!

On My Easel - Sketch for The Cellist - original oil pastel portrait

Cellos are such beautiful instruments - both in appearance and sound.  So many people think they're just for accompaniment, but they are gorgeous for solos.  This sketch will definitely become an oil painting - not because I don't value oil pastel, because if you read my blog, you know how much I adore oil pastel, but oil is requested for this one.  I have many cello drawings and some will make appearances here.  This piece is drawn with Sennelier oil pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix paper, 12 x 9".  Thanks for looking!

Tiny Lia - original oil pastel portrait painting (ATC)

I am on an ACEO/ATC kick at the moment and have been using Caran d'Ache Neopastels instead of my usual Senneliers.  They are not as soft as the Senneliers and are easier to work with in such a small area without sharpening them.  See my post on my oil pastel blog.  I used a 3 1/2 x 2 1/2" piece of illustration board for this one - owing to my photography skills, it's a little warmer than in real life - will try tomorrow to get a photo in better light.  Thanks for looking!

Seated Model with Wineglass - original oil pastel figurative painting

Done on Judson's Guerilla Painter carton paper, this painting is 7 x 5" - I used mostly Senneliers with a few Caran d'Ache and Holbein.  It's so satisfying to work on this paper - it has many of the attributes of the carton paper of the Impressionists' day, but is touted as being more archival.  I love its warm color, as well.  Thanks so much for stopping by my blog - check out my latest posting on my oil pastel blog by clicking here.

The Model in a Dark Robe - original oil pastel figurative painting

This sketchy piece has made me so happy because I feel I got her skin tones correct.  Lately, I've been working on skin tones and trying to pay a lot of attention to getting just the right hue, value, etc., and - yippee - I have a good feeling about this one!  Am hoping to turn this into an oil painting, but whenever I attempt such things, something is lost - will keep trying, though.  Am I alone in having the problem of losing the feeling of the original when trying to move it to another medium?  On Strathmore 403 oil pastel paper, about 11 x 8".  Thanks so much for stopping by.

Portrait Sketch of a Young Woman - original oil pastel portrait sketch

I just bought a pad of 9 x 12" Mi-Teintes pastel paper.  I love the textured side and did this sketch on one of the sheets of off-white - there are several colors in the pad - with Sennelier oil pastels.  Thanks for stopping by.

Sketch of Boxers - original oil pastel figurative drawing

As a little kid, I watched the 'fights' on TV with my father - a brutal sport, I know, but I admire the superb conditioning of the contestants.   I'm thinking about doing more of these drawings, possibly long panels of them.  This one was done on carton paper, 7 x 5".  Thanks for stopping by!

On My Easel - Looking Back - original oil pastel portrait in progress

This is an interesting pose to paint and definitely requires a model - no memory painting here.  It's a long way from being finished, but I look forward to working on it and seeing how it ends up.  Using Strathmore Mixed Media paper - my first experience with this heavy paper and I like it. Thanks so much for stopping by!

ACEO - Over Her Shoulder - original oil pastel portrait painting

I love to do these little ACEOs - they're only 3 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches, but they can contain a lot of information and emotion.  This one is on Art Spectrum Colourfix in light blue.  The Colourfix has a white (unsanded) border all around, which I think gives a nice framed effect.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Saturday Jive - original oil pastel figurative painting

A fun little thing that I loved doing - it's about 11 1/2 x 19" on Art Spectrum Colourfix paper - a delicious concoction and perfectly gritty for oil pastels.  Saturdays were always fun when I was young and this is a little tribute to Saturday nights.  Thanks so much for visiting my blog! Sold

Chess Players - original oil pastel portrait drawing

Not being much of a chess player myself, I was totally absorbed in the expressions of the players and since I only had them for a little while, they were my focus.  As for the chess pieces, they were on their own, plus, they kept moving!  Go figure. 
Sorry for not posting more often, but it's that time of year - today it was my Lizzano tomatoes, which I'm actually growing in pots where the deer could get them, but I've wrapped them in netting.  That's a huge pain, but an absolute must in this area. 
Okay, back to art - this drawing from life was done with mostly Sennelier oil pastels on light green Mi-Teintes board, 16 x 20".  If you haven't tried this surface, you should really check it out.  It's the textured side of Mi-Teintes paper, but in board form.  I think this surface helps to keep drawings loose, because it's tough and time-consuming to work in a tight manner on this board.  My opinion, anyway.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Tiny Geisha - original oil pastel ACEO figurative painting

I did this little ATC or ACEO while listening to The Last Gunfight by Jeff Guinn.  Delicious.  It's a bit of the hard truth about the Old West and pretty much nothing like the western movies I loved in my childhood, nor even much like my all-time favorite movie, Tombstone.  I could watch that movie endlessly, I think, if I didn't have a ton of other things to do.  Tomorrow, I'll be back in reality, Old West style, listening to the last half of the book while I paint some tango dancers.  I realize westerns and tango dancers don't have much in common, but it's fun to lose myself in two entirely different worlds! 

Now a bit about my little painting.  Although tiny, these little ones do take time and some effort to get into the picture plane everything you want to say.  Sometimes, though, I just crave sitting bent over my table to work on these minis.  It's on 3.5 x 2.5" illustration board.  Thanks for visiting my blog!

Sketch of a Seated Nude - original oil pastel drawing of a nude

Hi All - I'm back from my trip to Italy and ready to get back into my drawing/painting groove - not a rut, mind you, but a groove!  Happy New Year to all of my friends out there in the Blogosphere!  This drawing is done on Strathmore 12 x 9" oil pastel 403 paper (now marketed as Pastel pad) which I absolutely adore - it's my go to surface.  It's been around for years - mentioned in Kenneth Leslie's book on oil pastel.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Joanie in Purple - original oil pastel portrait

I've been away for a few days - more on that on tomorrow!

This drawing is another experiment - I loved her hairdo, which was so totally straight - maybe I'll just let it alone and move on, especially since she's not available any longer.  That's when I get into trouble - trying to do more work on a drawing when the model has departed.  This piece is on 12 x 9" Colourfix paper.  Thanks for stopping by! Sold

Tiny Little Portrait - original oil pastel portrait painting

This little portrait is done on 3.5 x 2.5" heavy paper (pastel-colored illustration board) and was a real challenge to do with unsharpened oil pastels.  Although it's a little more difficult to do, I like the looseness that the dull point gives.
As a dog lover (see my Able Assistant at right), I've been listening to a Chet and Bernie mystery
Dog On It and loving it.  Chet (the dog) makes so many funny comments about humans that I look at Roger and think to myself  'is that what he's thinking when he looks at me?' - such a fun book!  As soon as I finish this one, I'll begin another one in the series. 
Thanks so much for stopping by Hackberry Street Studio!

Rodeo - original oil pastel figurative painting

This weekend in Junction, Texas, there's going to be our annual summer rodeo!  It's a ranch rodeo - my favorite - and there's much excitement in the air here in our little town on the Llano River!  We have a parade on Saturday morning, and dances after the rodeo both nights.  Everyone has a wonderful time.  It's small town America at its best, so if you're anywhere near Junction on the 12th and 13th of August, come on and join us!
The painting is oil pastel on Colourfix paper, 12 x 9". 

Check out my oil pastel blog

Thanks so much for stopping by!

A Little Mystery - original oil pastel portrait painting

This loose, sort of scribbly oil pastel was done on black 12 x 9" Colourfix paper. Some of the black bits of paper show through here and there and I like the way that look accentuates the looseness of the work.
This afternoon - between my dandelion pulling efforts - I took my oil pastels outside and did some color studies. I have been reading Hensche on Painting by John Robichaux (a Dover publication) and decided to do experiments just with white - white in shade and then in sunlight. I then tried to duplicate the colors. Normally, I would use oil paint for these studies, but the oil pastel worked just great because it blends easily! It was a worthwhile exercise in learning to see better and it was so lovely being in the back yard with Roger while it's still cool and springlike.
Thanks so much for stopping by Hackberry Street Studio! Sold

Girl in a Big Hat - original oil pastel figurative miniature painting

This little tiny thing was fun and challenging to paint, especially since it is only 3.5 x 2.5" and I did it with unsharpened oil pastels.  I purposely didn't sharpen them, as I think it makes the painting looser.  I once had an art professor who said that he had a student in the class who was very tight and one who was very loose.  I was the loose one and I still am.  Sometimes, I think it's because I like to leave a lot unsaid - even in life.  My husband might disagree.  I really do think that's the basis for looseness.  Mine, anyway.  You've probably heard of artist trading cards - that's what this is.  It's done on Colourfix paper.  I've been doing bunches of these.  The pose pleased me so much that I think I'll redo it in a larger size.  Thanks so much for stopping by! Sold

Tango Memories - original oil pastel figurative painting

This quickly done - my favorite way, lest I "kill" it - tango painting is on 12 x 9" black Colourfix pastel paper.  Yum!  One of my favorite supports!  Thanks for looking!