When Old Tricks Become New Tricks

 

"Approaching" 5 x 6.75 inch Mixed Media on Paper (Wax Pastel, Water, Oil Pastel)

In 2004, I signed up for my first official art class on a college campus.  I'd already been teaching public school for a few years, and needed to renew my credential. To do so, I needed to take some post-graduate units.  To my surprise, I was informed that those units could be in any subject!  I decided to go ahead and explore a life-long love that I'd never spent much time learning in a classroom: art classes.

My grandmother was a painter, so thanks to her I'd spent plenty of time making art.  When I chose my first "real" art class, I picked one called "The Magic of Pastel Painting."  I knew I loved to play around with oil pastels.  I assumed the class would teach me how to use them properly.

To my surprise, the materials list didn't include oil pastels-- instead, it said to bring soft (or what we sometimes called "chalk") pastels, along with a special type of paper.  I purchased the materials with some skepticism. How could these pastels be as bright and colorful as oil pastels?

Once I got a taste for the soft pastels in my first class, I was hooked.  I enjoyed making marks with the pastel strokes, the way the color clung to the paper, the ease of smearing them to blend, and layering them for detail-- even using the fixative was fun.  The oil pastels quickly faded from my favor, although I occasionally took them out to try again, only to quickly be reminded why I now preferred the soft pastels.

Many years after I got comfortable with the soft pastels, I began experimenting with them.  One of my art professors asked if I'd ever tried using them with water. Feeling like I was breaking some kind of unwritten rule, I tried it and loved it. Soon I began adding other options-- watercolor, acrylic, even oil pastels!  Some of the pieces with soft and oil pastels turned out to be successful, but for the most part, I left the oil pastels alone. I also tried water-soluble wax pastels, and quickly abandoned those, thinking they just weren't something I would ever enjoy using-- until now.

Exhausted, bleary-eyed, and desperate to paint something, no matter how small, I pulled the box of wax pastels out again one evening a few months ago to give them another try.  I'd been teaching so much in a variety of media, I figured I should be able to get something out of them if I kept the painting simple.

What started as a casual experiment turned into a nightly habit, with me making a quick, small wax pastel painting before bed.  I enjoyed the colors and ease of gliding the crayons around, and blending with a brush and water was a relaxing way to end the day.  I felt they needed something as a final layer though. 

                         

I bought Pan pastels years ago, and haven't incorporated them much into my paintings.  I gave them a try on top of the wax pastels, and got a nice soft effect.  I decided to do a little research and see how other artists use the wax pastels.  I didn't find much, but I did see a post about using them as an underlayer for oil pastels.  I gave that a try, and got dramatic results!

"Tunas"
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"Oak Lights"
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So what I've learned about myself in this process is that there's a time and place for different mediums in my art journey.  Something that might fit my needs at one stage of life might not work at another.  As a teenager, I spent hours drawing with pencil or charcoal, working on black and white portraits from old Hollywood photos. I can't imagine doing that now, but I learned so much from that activity at the time I was practicing it daily.  Now that I'm in need of something quick and easy to use (with very little cleanup), I'm enjoying the wax pastels and oil pastels together as a regular exercise.

If you've put a particular medium aside in the past, and still have your materials, I recommend giving them a fresh try!  You might be surprised at how they work differently for you at a different phase of life.

Speaking of old tricks, after abandoning Ebay years ago, I've been posting new artwork for sale there again!  With the changes they've made over the last few years, it's much more similar to Etsy, so I've been adding my bird paintings both as auctions and fixed price.  Stop by and check it out! (I take offers too!)