Weekly OP Sketch Thread March 2-8

lacey sprocket · #1 03-02-2009, 01:54 PM

This sketch thread is open to all Oil Pastelists. You are invited to share any sketching you've been doing this week, be it detailed ones, quick ones, ideas for paintings or value studies. Basically, just show us what you're working on! There is NO time limit, so knock yourselves out!

It would be great if you could share with us the paper and pastels you are using, as well as the size of your sketch. We do love the details!

I have been pretty busy this last week, I am doing a live painting at our film festival here in San Jose this week and I spent last week preparing for it (they gave me a free pass and I'm eeing tons of movies)! I wish I had time to comment on all of the lovely work everyone is doing!

robertsloan2 · #2 03-02-2009, 03:00 PM

Thanks for hosting, Lacey! Another great sketch thread... surprised me to be the first to post. I'll be sketching every day this week since I joined a friend in a challenge to do daily art on LJ. Way cool that you're doing a live painting at the film festival, that sounds like so much fun.

**Pat Isaac** · #3 03-02-2009, 05:21 PM

Have fun at that film festival, Lacey, I LOVE movies....and have a great time with the live painting.

Pat

**Scarefishcrow** · #4 03-02-2009, 10:43 PM

Thanks for hosting, Lacey. Sounds like a real blast this week. Have fun.

Bill

robertsloan2 · #5 03-03-2009, 01:50 AM

Blue Delphinium sketch again, on canva-paper with Erengi from my 50 color set (easier to get at during the cleanup). The washed finished version is in my flower study thread, this is the original sketch though and I like how it came out, very loose and light.

It's interesting doing the same flower repeatedly. I had less problems with shape and size of petals this time and I'm sure the more often I do it the easier its proportions will get. I quartered the sheet to about six by eight, but left plenty of room around it for matting since canva-paper will go in a mat like any other paper.

Barbara WC · #6 03-04-2009, 12:16 AM

Nice sketch Robert.

I'm still in experimental mode with oil pastels- testing brands, papers, etc.

The past three nights I've sketched a tangerine on blue cloth at the dining table while watching tv. I choose this setup because these colors (orange, ultramarine, green, yellow, white and dark blue) were in the set of 12 Cray Pas Specialists and I have similar colors in Sennelier and picked up a couple of more Holbeins to complete.

Impressions: I am starting to really like the Cray Pas Specialists. When I first tried them I didn't like the texture and thought they were a little low in pigmentation. Now I realize that the colors in the 12 set are more transparent then either the Senneliers and Holbeins- I was confusing the transparency with pigment load. The Holbeins seem the most opaque (at least the colors used here). The Sennelier's are my favorites, the colors are so intense, and the texture is so smooth, but the paper eats the sticks up! I'm thinking of using the Specialists in the early layers and using Sennelier's on top. I was going to do that combo next with the tangerine, but I'm sick of tangerines, so will move to another subject.

Here we go. All about 5"x7" on white Colorfix. IRL, all are more intense in color- the scanner didn't pick that up. If you have the Sennelier ultramarine, you'll realize the scan doesn't come close to the beauty of the color (lower right in each scan is pure ultramarine OP).

Barbara

Holbeins:

Cray Pas Specialists:

Senneliers:

**Scarefishcrow** · #7 03-04-2009, 12:32 AM

Robert,
Nice, light sketch. Are the vertical lines showing through from the scanner? I seem to see some scanner artifact, I think.

Barbara,

All three are very nicely done and the comparison is very interesting. I personally like Specialists for early stages and linear work.

You should collect some of these experiments and submit them to the Oil Spiel at OPS since I think they are great types of things to inform members of working characteristics of various OP's. And your background helps you document them and make very good comparisons. I think it is very useful information.

Bill!

robertsloan2 · #8 03-04-2009, 12:55 AM

Bill -- yes, the vertical lines are scanner artifact. They weren't there on the original sketch before I washed it, though they washed out if they had been.

Barbara, I love your series of tangerines in different brands. That rocks. I should do something like that for my reviews, pick a very simple subject and use the same colors across all the brands for it. That'd be very cool.

Here's today's sketch, a pink coreopsis. Stages are in my flower thread. I'll post the finished sketch, with wash and last dry details here though.

I'm thinking of doing some of these sketches by using a bit of it for a palette and sketching with the brush. I love how the thinner wash looks when I paint it on, very light and loose, so easy to get transparent effects like watercolor but such rich strong color.

I still have two more pieces of this canva-paper from the sheet I quartered so I'll definitely be doing more thinner wash sketches as the days go on. This month is the start of daily sketching through both March and April so I should have something new to post every day. If I don't -- then I've had a very bad day, since I've had bad days the past couple of days and still managed to do this sort of thing.

**Scarefishcrow** · #9 03-05-2009, 01:55 AM

I thought they probably were, Robert. Thanks.

Bill

**Pat Isaac** · #10 03-05-2009, 10:39 AM

Nice sketches, Barbara and I like your experimentation with the 3 brands. Many people use the harder brands underneath as a first layer. I haven't really tried that much, probably because I don't have much of a selection of the other brands..

What a burst of spring, Robert!

Pat

Yusuke · #11 03-05-2009, 12:39 PM

Hi all,

Lacey, thank you for hosting as every week. Live painting at a film festival sounds cool. I hope you enjoy it and produce wonderful paintings!

Robert,
Nice simple sketches of flowers. How do you like canva-paper? I tried some before and it was sooooo hard for me...

Barbara,
Thanks for sharing your experiment of using different brands. It's so interesting to compare the colours and the textures for these brands.

Okay, here are my sketches in this week. An unusual shortcake and a glass sugar pot were sketched on the coloured papers. Mainly Senneliers.

The 3rd of March was Girls' Day (called Hinamatsuri) here in Japan. Although my child is a boy, I bought a cake for my wife.

Well, this cake is not a traditional one but just a diamond-shaped strawberry shortcake with tricolor cellophane that must have been designed after Hishi-mochi.

For details on Hinamatsuri and Hishi-mochi, see these links.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinamatsuri
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hishi_mochi

Thanks for looking.

robertsloan2 · #12 03-05-2009, 01:36 PM

That is so great, Yusuke. I had forgotten all about Girls Day and Boys Day, but I read about them in an origami book that had specific figures you could make to celebrate them. Maybe next year I'll get my granddaughter something special for Girls Day.

Your sugar shaker is gorgeous. It looks as if I could pick it up right off the screen, the illusion of glass you create is wonderful. The little diamond shaped shortcake is delightful and that set my mouth watering this morning. First thing I see when I get up is something I want to eat! Mmmm that looks so tasty.

You are truly the master of illusion. Your realism is always something that makes me happy.

I like the canvas paper for doing quick sketches when I don't feel well. It's easier to just draw fast and spontaneous, then wash. It has its own identity, I am not trying to make it act like the smoother Colourfix where I can layer and do realism.

**Pat Isaac** · #13 03-05-2009, 05:11 PM

Yum....your rendering of the sweet cake makes it look very tempting and the metal on the sugar pot is fantastic.
Thanks so much for the links regarding Girls Day.

Pat

**Scarefishcrow** · #14 03-05-2009, 06:41 PM

Yusuke, you do wonders with light effects. The shortcake has a shimmer that makes almost seem to be moving as if it has just been set on the table.

An your treatment of the metal and glass, both so difficult to get to look good, is impeccable!

Bravo. (Now, can I have that cake??

)

Bill

lacey sprocket · #15 03-05-2009, 09:07 PM

Robert, nice flowers, I like the pink one.

Barbara, great experiment! I Use cray-pas expressionist (I find the price is a lot better and they are almost identical to the specialists) for underlayers and sennies on top. Works great!

Yusuke, mmmmmm...that cake looks so tasty!

I finished my painting at the film festival. I'm still seeing lots of movies, it ends on Sunday. You can see pictures of the painting here if you wanna: http://flickr.com/photos/cherrilakey...7614739144864/

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