Danger Zone - Experimenting with pastels
Don't they look nice. I got this set from Lidl for about 7 euros a while back and have been waiting for to try them out. So I set up a big canvas yesterday and gave them a shot. I made few lines with them and I came to conclusion that they suck. Meaning they are quite hard and leave a very thin trace of color so they are probably ok for something else. I had made a few pastels of my own the other day, See instructions in this post: How to make dry pastel and ended up using them mostly.
So it's been a while i've tried doing anything with pastels and it's always awkward after a while. I'm just studying how it works feeling around with different marks.
I had prepared two colors which i ended up using all on this one.
The real fun begins and i guess the moment of epiphany. The pastels i made leave a very thick layer of color, consisting mostly of pure pigment. It is possible to spread it around with brush very carefully.
I wasn't very careful...
I end up wiping a lot of the pigment away and but leaving some clean dividing marks there. This is the stuff that gets me excited.
The behaviour of materials, the chance of interesting accidents and destruction.
The random patterns from that emerge, colliding with the ones made on purpose. This is the same thing in principle why i like to paint with thin dripping paint, only here it is the dust and crumbling causing havoc. So now that i found the thing. There is something else to try..
Yeah, wet paint on dry pastel. This is not how you are supposed to do things. The dusty pigment absorbed a lot of the oil and mixed in with the paint, somewhat contrasting colors here dulling a little bit towards neutral. I didn't go full splashy on this one but got some idea how this works. It's kinda sticky.
I had small piece of the red ochre left and i tried it on the wet paint.
I was little surprised how well it stuck. It was soft enough to not scratch the underlying paint away.
So there was again interesting things happening with the textures. Colors popping in different ways.
I was quite pleased with the experiments and i think there is great potential with the pastels, so i just might add them to my permanent arsenal. So do i buy the better ones or If i end up making them, i might just aswell make some of my own paints aswell. There is something to think about.
here's a view of the laboratory. Thanks for reading.
I am an artist of different mediums. I havent done traditional art in a couple years. But one of my favorite mediums is charcoal. It behaves just like you wrre saying about your homemade pastels. It is dark and choatic and it makes for wonderful abstraction which I appreciate when done well and for purpose and experimentation! Your art is great. I love the emotion of the pieces. Love the art!
Thank you. Purpose is a good point to raise and is something to consider in all forms and techniques.
Precious work, you also need to like what you do
Thank you for good posting!
That is very true. Thank you
Experiment looks really colorful:) Love this medium, but it's way too messy:)
Messy and bad for health, works for me :D
I agree. hehe
Interesting in all stages. I also like the second one where the lines still stands like a drawing. It is part of the pastel that it can be used both as a painting and a drawing. Degas was mainly two colour drawing while this in the later stage with the green is painting just like the eighteen century works.
Yea was intending to keep more of the drawing but it just somehow slipped :D Messing with that border is something i like to do
It's really interesting colors!!
Thanks
I can imagine the texture of the pastels in between my fingers. It looks like a lot of fun.
It is, even the last bit when there is just a little piece that you can press under your thumb and it almost gets sucked into the canvas when you slide it.
Art porn. No other way to explain it!
Yea, It's pretty good sometimes :D
It's really nice getting a glimpse into your thought process, I'd like to see more of this :-)
Cg
Nice to hear, I have to remember to take a day or two before posting as it's often very hard to grasp the words right after painting.
Yes I can imagine it's quite a state change to go from, thinking in colour, shade, lines and patterns, to articulating with words.
Anyway, like I say, I really like this format. Just watching you build something when you yourself don't necessarily know where it's going to end is fascinating!
Cg
Thank you, i appreciate the feedback. It's often that i complete a phase of painting and document that and there might be a few weeks break between and not so much progress within a single post.
nice work !! I actually have exactly the SAME pastel and i'm from belgium haha
lol, from lidl as well? Sometimes there are good finds. Thank you :)
Yeah from lidl ! I took the watercolors as well ;)
Good stuff :D
This post got a
6.66% upvote thanks to @mikkolyytinen - Hail Eris !SO much FUN !!! - )))
.. have you tried .. painting your pastel works ?? - ))
WITH "paint thinner" .. to soften edges - )))
IT makes the canvas 'stink' .. - (((
but, letting the canvas live out-side for awhile ...
KillS the smell - )))))))))))
GreaT PosT !!! - )))
lovelovelove )))
greb'Z )
.. water colors .. OVER or UNDER oil - )))
ALLoT of FUN TOO !! -)))))))))))
ha ha - )))
I like toast 🍞
OOOOOOOhh no - ((
.. i feel for you !! - ))
incurable !! - (((
IT happened to me too .. in a 7 X 12 accident - ((
BE WELL - ))
AWesome. I guess you mean with oil pastel, I'm not sure how it would work with these as there is not much binding agent. I'll continue with the experiments though see what happens, i use a lot of turps anyway.