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Little Shed in OIl Pastels

Little Shed in Oil Pastels

 

Pro-Art Oil Pastels

Pro-Art Oil Pastels

The Story Behind the Sketch:

There stands a little weathered grey shed at a farm I pass frequently, which I never managed to get a photograph of & never imagined would disappear before I was able! This  shed was old enough that I figured it’d be there till it fell apart—but the last time I passed the farm, the thrifty farmer who owned it was building on to it! I was sorry to have my view of it obscured; I’d admired that little building in various seasons, especially in summer when it had a huge tropical-looking red-blossomed plant growing in front of it that contrasted so beautifully with the weathered grey color. So I decided to at least try to draw it from memory.

I think there’s something to be said for working from memory every now & then. It activates a part of the brain that otherwise isn’t used too often, at least with such intensity. The details may not be absolutely correct here, but I’ve captured the general appearance of the shed.

I chose to use oil pastels simply because artist friend Linda had given me a set which she felt she would never use. In an effort to calm my sleep-resistant brain, I decided to try these pastels out & do this sketch before going to sleep one night.

. The Technical Stuff:

Strathmore “Sketch” tablet, ( a fairly smooth paper) &  Pro Art Oil Pastels were used. Some blending was achieved with a Q-tip.

My Experience in Doing this Sketch: 

Just the smell of these oil pastels made me happy—sort of like crayons, but “oilier”. Looking at the wide range of colors was a mood-lifter too. In using them, I found that it was hard to cover all the white paper, so the end result was sort of crayon-like. But they felt nice to use, going on smoothly. Some blending & coverage was achieved by adding layers of color, usually a lighter one over a darker one—sort of like blending paint on a canvas. I think they bear further investigation, experimenting on different surfaces possibly. With this medium it could be that the therapeutic affect of the pleasure of using them is where their value lies.

NOTE: All images and text in this post are Copyright K. A. Renninger 2013. I am more than happy to have you share them through your own blog, and hope you will do so—but you must give me credit. Anyone who uses them to make money will be prosecuted.