Not What I Wanted To Be

[ericscissorhands]

"Some women are lost in the fire. Some women are built from it."

[notwhatiwantedtobeold]

This Coulson/Simmons AoS fanfic is so sweet that it gave me diabetes. Recommended if you're looking for a long (250+k words!) read with a nice mix of plot, romance, and smut.

[notwhatiwantedtobeold]

And here's my second attempt. I like it much better than the first one.

12” x 16”

~2 hours

Unison soft pastels

CarbOthello pastel pencils

Richeson’s Unison marble-colored 140lb premium pastel surface

[notwhatiwantedtobeold]

This was my first attempt at painting this scene in pastels. I changed my mind about a few things before I finished and abandoned it to start over.

12" x 16"

~2 hours

Unison soft pastels

CarbOthello pastel pencils

Richeson’s Unison marble-colored 140lb premium pastel surface

[notwhatiwantedtobeold]

My 11th painting is based on a photograph of my old cat. I drew a grid on the photo and used that to sketch the outlines of his features using an orange pastel pencil before filling everything in with soft pastels. I then drew in the eyes and whiskers with pastel pencils.

I'm very happy with the way his head and face turned out -- it's recognizably him! 

The legs, paws, and tail came out weird -- it's an awkward photo to paint from because his legs are sticking out straight at the camera and thus are weird stubby things if you can't get the 3 dimensional feel right (and I obviously can't). I think I'll try again with a different photo/pose sometime.

12" x 16"

~3 hours

Unison soft pastels

CarbOthello pastel pencils

Richeson's Unison marble-colored 140lb premium pastel surface

[notwhatiwantedtobeold]

After I finished experimenting, I made a second attempt at a Japanese Maple. Unlike my first attempt, this time I had some pictures to look at. I sketched in the trunk and branches using a pastel pencil and then did the leaves etc. with soft pastels.

It doesn't look much like the pictures but I like the vividness of the colors.

12" x 16"

~4 hours

Unison soft pastels

CarbOthello pastel pencils

Richeson's Unison marble-colored 140lb premium pastel surface

[notwhatiwantedtobeold]

After I tested the UArt Sanded Pastel Paper I realized I hadn't tried out my CarbOthello Pastel Pencils yet! So I gave them a whirl. I only have a set of 12 and thus my pears came out weird because of the limited palette.

I don't like using the pastel pencils. The soft creamy Unison pastels have spoiled me and the pencils are too hard and scratchy in comparison. 

I'll just use the pastel pencils for when I need to do a preliminary sketch before applying regular pastels. 

8" x 12"

~30 minutes

CarbOthello pastel pencils

Richeson's Unison marble-colored 140lb premium pastel surface

[notwhatiwantedtobeold]

Testing UArt Sanded Pastel Paper

On my first day of pastels class the instructor gave me several different types of pastel papers to try. I liked the UArt Sanded Pastel Paper best, and ordered one piece from each grade so I could try them all and decide which grade I liked best.

UArt Sanded Pastel Paper 240

The 240 grade has the largest tooth. It ripped up the paper towel I was using to blend large areas and was pretty harsh on my finger as well. I also generated a TON of dust while applying pastels to this paper and it was a bit difficult to blend. But this was the grade that was easiest to layer.

UArt Sanded Pastel Paper 400

The 400 grade (moderate "bite") didn't tear my towel and was easier to blend than the 240. It didn't layer as easily, though.

UArt Sanded Pastel Paper 500

The 500 grade (moderate "bite") was slightly easier to blend on than the 400. It was a lot more difficult to layer, though -- I found that the 500 and higher grades became "saturated" very quickly and then it was very difficult to add any more pigment. The pastel dust would just pile up on the surface and then fall off when shaken instead of adhering or blending.

UArt Sanded Pastel Paper 600

The 600 grade is the first of the "superfine" papers. Interestingly, my paper towel started tearing again on this one and the 800. It became harder and harder to add pigment or blend (much less layer!) after just a little bit of pastel was on.

UArt Sanded Pastel Paper 800

I had a really difficult time with the 800 grade ("superfine"). It becomes saturated so quickly that I end up with a big pile of pastel dust making a smudgy mess all over my paper. I think someone with a very light touch might like this paper -- the color goes on very smoothly with just a whisper of contact with the paper -- but it was my least favorite.

My Choice

I'm going to stock up on both the 240 and the 400. The 240, while rough, seems best for layering. Meanwhile, the 400 had the most characteristics I liked with the fewest problems.

Five 9"x12"

~3 hours

Unison soft pastels

UArt sanded pastel paper

[notwhatiwantedtobeold]

Lesson 20 of You Can Draw in 30 Days is all about hollow cylinders, specifically, craters and cups. The bonus challenge was fun.

~40 minutes

I'm 2/3 of the way through the lessons now!!!

[notwhatiwantedtobeold]

Lesson 19 of You Can Draw in 30 Days is pyramids. Kinda boring.

~15 minutes

[notwhatiwantedtobeold]

Lesson 18 of You Can Draw in 30 Days is drawing a furled scroll. This was another fun one. I like drawing curlicues.

~25 minutes

[notwhatiwantedtobeold]

Lesson 17 of You Can Draw in 30 Days is rippling flags. This one was a lot more fun than the previous few lessons.

~20 minutes

[notwhatiwantedtobeold]

Lesson 16 of You Can Draw in 30 Days is a wave. Mine sucked but I didn't feel like doing it over.

~10 minutes

[notwhatiwantedtobeold]

Lesson 15 of You Can Draw in 30 Days is contoured tubes.

This was my first drawing lesson back after taking a week off for travel and illness.

~15 minutes

[notwhatiwantedtobeold]

Lesson 14 of You Can Draw in 30 Days is more flowers -- this time, lilies.

This was the last lesson I did before I took a week off from drawing. (I was out of town and then I got sick.)

~20 minutes

[notwhatiwantedtobeold]

I then attempted a still life of a pumpkin and some indian corn from memory. I think it's clear that I shouldn't try to paint or draw from memory anymore. :( I have no idea what position those ears of corn are in.

12" x 16"

~30 minutes

Unison soft pastels

Richeson's Unison 140lb marble-colored premium pastel surface

[notwhatiwantedtobeold]

I did another iteration of the red barn from my watercolors classes in pastel. The perspective is pretty screwy in this one. :(

6" x 8"

~30 minutes

Unison soft pastels

Richeson's Unison marble-colored 140lb premium pastel surface