You know how you say you like the bold and graphic lines, like in your swan pieces? What if you tried treating landscapes in the same way? More like a classic composition study with bold colour blocks to represent the landscape? I’d be so interested to see how that looks in your hand!
I've always been a bit scared of landscapes, there's always so much information to process! But I think your suggestion is a good one, and pastels would really help with simplifying the main shapes and colours that I see. I'll give it a go! Thanks!
So creamy and delicious! I haven’t done much traditional media lately, but I’m finding textile has a lot of scope for what I want to explore - and can bear being ignored for long periods when I need to pivot to parent mode (unlike certain kinds of painting or pottery.)
I really resonate with the need for being able to ignore a material for a long period of time! This is why I have hardly painted much since becoming a parent. I do keep meaning to get involved with some textiles and sewing too...I was gifted a sewing machine for my 40th but so far my husband has made more use of it than I have! What do you explore with your textile work? I'd love to start a quilt.
Let’s see… I’ve done a weaving documenting fragmentation of time (I tied a knot every time my kid interrupted me), another piece with clothing tags about sensory processing, and a cross stitch that says “I’m fine.” on the front and completely knotted on reverse. I can’t include images, but you can see them all here: https://www.sarahshotts.com/thisismybrainonmotherhood
I'm autistic too and your stuff is amazing! My skin is absolutely crawling looking at that tag shirt, and I LOVE data art, do you have a substack/Instagram/YouTube etc?
These are gorgeous! Have you ever tried kids tempera sticks? They're really similar but so heap and dry kind of like inks, I love them. They're really good for making quick collage papers as well with minimal mess
Yes my kid has a small set of primary colours - they are so much fun! I have played with them a bit but I haven't yet managed to find a way to work with them in my own sketchbooks. I don't know why - maybe the colours are too bright? Which usually isn't an issue for me! But I agree, the texture is gorgeous!
Fair! Even in the bigger packs some of the colours are very odd lol, I recently got a skintones pack and there's a lot of nice browns and peaches in it which had helped.
I have not tried that - I will bear that in mind! Yes I noticed Sennelier are really gorgeous and juicy - I know I will love them so I avoid them 🤣 I'm staying away from the top quality stuff! I'm sure I'll end up spending all my money on it!
I have this big box set! My kid uses it haha. I have never liked the waxiness of oil pastels and because I like to work really detailed, I also steer away from them. But There are lots of people who make brilliant work with them and then I'm not sure why I'm not using them 😅. I've been mesmerized by Viktoria Maliar (https://www.instagram.com/viktoriamaliar/), especially the way she uses colour. She works with oil pastels almost exclusively. And I think she has a Patreon too?
Aah yes I have seen Viktoria's work and love it! I'm really drawn to this way of working. I can see why you don't use oil pastels - they are really the opposite of detail. Do you use your kids set for fun?
I mostly use the kids set with my kid - but I also use her materials for my own work, kids art supplies are great sometimes. I might give the oil pastels another go!
Interesting Raj! I’ve always HATED oil pastels but probably unfairly so. The one and only time I’ve used them was back in my very early days of college and I’ve never gone back to them. But I LOVE the solidity of colour you get in some of these Raj! How are then when you open and close the book - do they stick the pages together? It didn’t look like that was an issue in the video. I might have to get a red and black on for a lil trial! Great post!
The solidity of colour is sooooooo delicious and satisfying! It’s one of my fave things about it. As for the sticky pages - this brand isn’t too sticky compared to others. I think Sennelier and some of the fancier brands are super creamy and oily and are probably more suited for primed thicker paper or canvas or board, so tend to be too much for sketchbooks. My pages don’t stick but i do stick a bit of grease proof paper / baking parchment from the kicthen between the sheets that i want to protect. It seems to do the trick! The brands definitely differ in texture and oiliness. Buying your fave colours is a great way in. I can see your graphic lines would be really strong using them. Excited that i’ve inspired you to try something new!
Raj! Love Jaxon brand too - they are brilliant quality for the price. I've only bought them individually because I have enough oil pastel sets, but I think you'll love the colour range. Plus if you get really into it, their jumbo range for big drawings is fun! Do you follow Rosa Roberts and Florence Hutchings? I think you'd love their work! xx
ooooh yes the Jumbo range! I'm heading to Munich tomorrow and I might pop into the beautiful art store to see if they have the jumbos as singles...I might need to buy a fat blue one and play with larger sheets of paper. I haven't come across the artists you mentioned...I'll look them up right away. Thanks!!
I feel like you feel about oil pastels the way I felt after finding soft pastels! Although I do love oil pastels too, I use them more sparingly.
I think you'd enjoy a fat blue one to use like you enjoy making single colour imagery in ink. The A-Z animal zine you made in ink would also look amazing in oil pastel! xx
I'm going to try that fat line FOR SURE as you suggest. I think I will probably go through the A-Z project multiple times just exploring the options for oil / ink /layering - its the perfect project!
I wish I enjoyed soft pastels too - love the intensity of the pigments and I have some lovely ones, I just can't bear the mess! And I have never managed to create anything I like with them. Love how you work with them as a soft wash with line on top.
You know how you say you like the bold and graphic lines, like in your swan pieces? What if you tried treating landscapes in the same way? More like a classic composition study with bold colour blocks to represent the landscape? I’d be so interested to see how that looks in your hand!
I've always been a bit scared of landscapes, there's always so much information to process! But I think your suggestion is a good one, and pastels would really help with simplifying the main shapes and colours that I see. I'll give it a go! Thanks!
Nice! Can’t wait to see how you go!
So creamy and delicious! I haven’t done much traditional media lately, but I’m finding textile has a lot of scope for what I want to explore - and can bear being ignored for long periods when I need to pivot to parent mode (unlike certain kinds of painting or pottery.)
I really resonate with the need for being able to ignore a material for a long period of time! This is why I have hardly painted much since becoming a parent. I do keep meaning to get involved with some textiles and sewing too...I was gifted a sewing machine for my 40th but so far my husband has made more use of it than I have! What do you explore with your textile work? I'd love to start a quilt.
Let’s see… I’ve done a weaving documenting fragmentation of time (I tied a knot every time my kid interrupted me), another piece with clothing tags about sensory processing, and a cross stitch that says “I’m fine.” on the front and completely knotted on reverse. I can’t include images, but you can see them all here: https://www.sarahshotts.com/thisismybrainonmotherhood
I found the substack and the newsletter 💜
We must have been posting at the same time! 🥰
I'm autistic too and your stuff is amazing! My skin is absolutely crawling looking at that tag shirt, and I LOVE data art, do you have a substack/Instagram/YouTube etc?
I do! Substack: https://sarahshotts.substack.com/ Insta: @sarahdshotts And I have a second Substack I’m running as a zine. It’s open to art & writing submissions from neurodivergent folks: https://neurokind.substack.com/
Sarah these are incredible! 'Im fine' is so powerful - hard relate to that one! I also love Mother Interrupted. Thanks so much for sharing!
These are gorgeous! Have you ever tried kids tempera sticks? They're really similar but so heap and dry kind of like inks, I love them. They're really good for making quick collage papers as well with minimal mess
Yes my kid has a small set of primary colours - they are so much fun! I have played with them a bit but I haven't yet managed to find a way to work with them in my own sketchbooks. I don't know why - maybe the colours are too bright? Which usually isn't an issue for me! But I agree, the texture is gorgeous!
Fair! Even in the bigger packs some of the colours are very odd lol, I recently got a skintones pack and there's a lot of nice browns and peaches in it which had helped.
If you're not allergic to oil-painting solvents, these can be used with oil pastels to turn it into "paint". Hand sanitizer too...
I think Sennelier work better in colder environments, otherwise they get really soft and juicy.
I have not tried that - I will bear that in mind! Yes I noticed Sennelier are really gorgeous and juicy - I know I will love them so I avoid them 🤣 I'm staying away from the top quality stuff! I'm sure I'll end up spending all my money on it!
I have this big box set! My kid uses it haha. I have never liked the waxiness of oil pastels and because I like to work really detailed, I also steer away from them. But There are lots of people who make brilliant work with them and then I'm not sure why I'm not using them 😅. I've been mesmerized by Viktoria Maliar (https://www.instagram.com/viktoriamaliar/), especially the way she uses colour. She works with oil pastels almost exclusively. And I think she has a Patreon too?
Aah yes I have seen Viktoria's work and love it! I'm really drawn to this way of working. I can see why you don't use oil pastels - they are really the opposite of detail. Do you use your kids set for fun?
I mostly use the kids set with my kid - but I also use her materials for my own work, kids art supplies are great sometimes. I might give the oil pastels another go!
Have you tried doing a thinner layer, then smooshing it until it's soft and thin, and working over the top with coloured pencils, graphite sticks? 😁
that sounds super fun, definitely giving it a go, thankyou so much💜
No I haven't tried that! But I will for sure!
Interesting Raj! I’ve always HATED oil pastels but probably unfairly so. The one and only time I’ve used them was back in my very early days of college and I’ve never gone back to them. But I LOVE the solidity of colour you get in some of these Raj! How are then when you open and close the book - do they stick the pages together? It didn’t look like that was an issue in the video. I might have to get a red and black on for a lil trial! Great post!
The solidity of colour is sooooooo delicious and satisfying! It’s one of my fave things about it. As for the sticky pages - this brand isn’t too sticky compared to others. I think Sennelier and some of the fancier brands are super creamy and oily and are probably more suited for primed thicker paper or canvas or board, so tend to be too much for sketchbooks. My pages don’t stick but i do stick a bit of grease proof paper / baking parchment from the kicthen between the sheets that i want to protect. It seems to do the trick! The brands definitely differ in texture and oiliness. Buying your fave colours is a great way in. I can see your graphic lines would be really strong using them. Excited that i’ve inspired you to try something new!
Raj! Love Jaxon brand too - they are brilliant quality for the price. I've only bought them individually because I have enough oil pastel sets, but I think you'll love the colour range. Plus if you get really into it, their jumbo range for big drawings is fun! Do you follow Rosa Roberts and Florence Hutchings? I think you'd love their work! xx
ooooh yes the Jumbo range! I'm heading to Munich tomorrow and I might pop into the beautiful art store to see if they have the jumbos as singles...I might need to buy a fat blue one and play with larger sheets of paper. I haven't come across the artists you mentioned...I'll look them up right away. Thanks!!
I feel like you feel about oil pastels the way I felt after finding soft pastels! Although I do love oil pastels too, I use them more sparingly.
I think you'd enjoy a fat blue one to use like you enjoy making single colour imagery in ink. The A-Z animal zine you made in ink would also look amazing in oil pastel! xx
I'm going to try that fat line FOR SURE as you suggest. I think I will probably go through the A-Z project multiple times just exploring the options for oil / ink /layering - its the perfect project!
I wish I enjoyed soft pastels too - love the intensity of the pigments and I have some lovely ones, I just can't bear the mess! And I have never managed to create anything I like with them. Love how you work with them as a soft wash with line on top.