Figure Study # 18

oil pastel & markers on paper,  12" x 9"

This was from an open studio life drawing session today.  Normally I would paint since it's one long pose but today I felt like continuing my exploration of oil pastels.  When I was working on the pears,  I had this idea of sketching first with markers then drawing over with pastels----so that's what I tried today.  Can't wait to do another one.

Three Pears

Another scene from the dining room table...

Oil pastel on paper, 12" x 9"

And below, some pear sketches from my sketchbook.  In December, I had found this fantastic pear at the grocery store that still had a couple dry yet sturdy leaves attached to its stem.  I carefully brought it home with visions of painting it but alas, it didn't happen.  I have since searched for another like it but have had no such luck. But I did find the tall guy above with the twisted stem who was very nice to draw. So I think my searching is done and I can move on.

oil pastel, sketchbook 12/2013

Flowers for Pupa

Oil pastel on paper, 12" x 9"

Another oil pastel from the dining room table.  I did this over five days here and there when I had time. Each time I set to work on it the light was different and the flowers had wilted more so a I really made a lot of it up.  Below is a the first impression of these same bunch of flowers that I had done in the end of December.

Acrylic on canvas, 6" x 4", 12/2013

Survivors

oil pastel on paper, 9" x 12"

These are two broken off pieces from my outdoor plants I was able to rescue before they froze.  I've been admiring them on our dining room table for about a month now.

Working with oil pastels is something new for me. I came across a nearly unused box in my drawer a few months ago and thought with the busy holidays and not much opportunity to paint I could maybe use these.  They were---are---great.  I kept them on the corner of the table with my sketchbook so they were always easy to get to when I knew I had a little window of drawing time.  Very little prep and very little clean up---perfect for very little time.  The two below are some of my first attempts I did in October.  The one above I did yesterday, I wanted to try nicer and bigger paper.

oil pastel, sketchbook 11/2013

oil pastel, sketchbook 11/2013

Olives

Happy New Year!

Oil on panel,  6 1/2"  x 4"