I recently discovered oil pastels and am being amazed every day at how versatile they are. While cleaning my desk this morning I found some blank ATCs (Artist trading cards, 2.5x3.5") and wondered if I could work small with such a bulky medium. Turns out, absolutely yes.
Something I drew a while ago, when I decided to look for things around the house that I could draw, rather than from photos.
This was the first thing I did, a pair of my brown shoes on top of a stool.
There are another 3 in the series of "things around the house", which I will post at some stage in the future.
I did set up the ingredients for an Easter bread with raisins and nuts, so i could make a sketch of it before i made the dough. While the dough was resting i worked it out in pen and ink.
I suppose this was just a tester/practice piece? My first actual still life from observation and my first time actually using charcoal (yes, I've never truly used charcoal before. Charcoal and pastels are two things I avoid. Their looseness and freeness scare me, considering how rigid I can be). Not sure how to feel about this one. I'm my worst critic, and I've known that for a long time now. There's a lot of practice and progress to be made, but it turned out half-way decent.
A vibrant piece of art depicts a fruit arrangement still life with various colorful fruits such as grapes, pomegranates, and figs resting on a plate. The background is a wash of warm yellow and earth tones, highlighting the freshness and diversity of the fruits.
I wasn't a big fan of this piece, but my parents really enjoyed it. It's something that they can enjoy without having to like the place where it came from. It's sort of like a still life.