I just started with oil pastels this past weekend and I am IN LOVE. I was inspired by this post to try my hand at a cottage landscape, but tiny, and boy do they make it fun to be imprecise! Challenging, for sure, and a bit messy, but still...so fun. Between these and the wax pastels I got in June, I think it's possible pastels (except chalk!) are my new favorite medium.
How in the heck are you all keeping your white spaces white when you are working? I had to adjust composition a couple times just to deal with a stray mark here and there, and then by the time I was done there was all this green at the bottom from my fingers. I wasn't even using them to blend! It's a 2.5" x 3.5" in canvas, so a mahl stick just doesn't make sense. A kneaded eraser can only do so much. I can go over it with white, maybe, but I doubt I'll be able to edge out the image that perfectly, and white paper is never truly white. Is there another solution? Preventative or otherwise, all ideas are welcome!
The subject (turkey tail mushrooms) was carefully chosen to increase my odds of being happy with it, but in the end...I'm pretty happy with it! I don't love overly blended styles so I know it is a bit "rough", and the colors and composition are nothing special but it is still pretty to me.
Technical errors aside, working with these is so fun! It's probably also one of the fastest things I've ever made - about 25min - which is crazy for a new medium (for me). Is oil pastel always quick? Am I missing an important step?
If you have any oil pastel tips, or suggestions of artists to follow, I'd be thrilled to hear them! Especially if landscapes or nature focused - I've seen incredible portraits on here but people are not really my thing.
In line with the question about my mushrooms from last week - does a colorful picture of foxglove fall into "cottagegoth"? I do see some colorful items/outfits on here, but ultimately this is just a pink flower. A deadly one, granted, but is backstory enough to push it into "goth"? What about the dark background? Is this splitting hairs?
It feels like the aesthetic subs are all very different and have clearly defined rules, because everyone I ask seems to know exactly whether or not something "fits", but also the rules themselves don't seem to be written down anywhere lol.
So, I'm genuinely trying to feel out the aesthetics because I have a huge range of art styles and subjects I enjoy, and I have been trying to categorize/clarify them (on a recommendation from another art sub). I'm ultimately going to make a bookmark and button collection in a few different styles (currently considering bibliophile, wanderlust and whatever these plants and foresty stuff falls into, since that covers most of my art) for a local collab. And, lacking even one iota of style myself, I'm leaning heavily on community guidance.
Thanks for reading this far!
I am trying an entirely new style of painting with these acrylic markers and would love people's input on a couple questions:
Does this read as abstract/impressionist/painterly or just unfinished? I often strive for a pretty realism-oriented style (not with technical perfection, but "as close as I can get" if that makes sense). In this case I was trying specifically to be loose and interpretive but I can't tell if that comes across. (I am trying to be more "loose" across a few mediums but this one I struggle with most I think)
Is there enough of a value range here? Markers in this set tend to mostly sit in the midrange I am not sure if I should acquire anything to supplement. I like relatively high contrast generally, but I know that isn't always called for.
Notes:
- I did use a few different references, but again was trying not to hew too closely to one specific image, which is why they are not included here.
- I know the water is...not great. But I am also ok with it as it wasn't my main focus and I limited myself to 45mins.
- I am not planning to fix this specific piece, but to actually take all suggestions I get into the next piece instead, which I will post here when I do get to it!
Thank you in advance to all critics!
I am very new to reddit and not well acquainted with the different aesthetic groups. My kiddo suggested cottagecore, but that felt a little too light and airy for these. I am just trying to find the right community for feedback on a new style of art I seem to have fallen in love with (I mostly do little vegan landscapes - love the ethical sourcing note in the rules here). This black paper and wax pastel combo has really consumed me lately.
If they don't fit, where would you recommend? Or, is there some specific thing I should add to make them more "goth"? I feel like they have the cottage bit, being little mushrooms and all.
Thank you!
I need advice on a number of things, as this is my first opportunity to potentially sell in a new shop that is opening nearby. However this is just about the wholesale/consignment question. I have read several older posts and they do not seem to have the answers I am looking for.
For context: it is a cute little stationary/art supply store and I am incredibly excited, both personally and professionally. However, I have no wholesale or consignment experience with regard to putting my products in place. For markets I have made bookmarks, postcards (more art than greeting card) and buttons, both from my art and from upcycled items. I have largely separate styles for each of these, but can coordinate them into a few collections. (Do I need to have cohesive branding too? Maybe that is another post).
My question is two fold:
Would it make sense to have two different structures (consignment and wholesale) for small items of this nature? The shop owner has expressed openness to consignment structure. Nothing wholesale has been discussed and I am not sure it is available at this stage.
If it makes sense for one or both, what percentage split would you offer on consigned items of this nature? And, if I can ask, approximately what wholesale cost or formula might you use for a bookmark or button or postcard? The retail around me varies pretty wildly within just a few blocks, but this will be in a nicer part of town. The owner is an artist (and pretty awesome actually) so I am not looking to squeeze out every penny, but I do need to make some little bit of profit.
I know my costs and I can work backwards from a general retail point or forward from a formula but I don't even know where to start.
Any and all advice, anecdotes or even pointers toward reliable resources, would be greatly appreciated.
I can't be the only one who dreams of the deep and dark woods at the hottest time of the year right?
New mushroom aceos up for auction, available to ship globally. Link is on my page.
There was a post on here recently about albums/album covers that evoke the Night Feeling, and one of the recommendations was Kavinsky, which reminded me of Night Call (a favorite of mine from the Drive movie and imo very mucn a "night feeling" song), which then led to me making this a few nights ago.
I took a picture and put it away to let it sit until I could decide if it was finished. Even posted about it this morning on another sub without thinking much of it.
And then I found out what happened.
I won't be doing anything else to it now.
I have read the FAQ and searched back quite a way but haven't found any material answers to my question. Basically I am trying to figure out if you can really make a decent rate on small works? I have always worked small - nothing over 5x7 or 6x6 - and I don't plan to go larger. I live in a very small space that constrains my work, but even so I just like working small.
I recently discovered ACEOs, which are addictive to make and right up my alley, but often under priced and most artists seem to use them as a gateway to larger work. I have no larger work. Does it still make sense to try to build something viable with these tiny works?
Any and all input welcome.
I made these with that feeling in mind - that long walk home from work and that strange feeling of suddenly being alone with yourself. I can still hear the old sodium lights.
Just sharing another set of different style landscapes. I really love making these but I feel like the time investment is in opposition to the market pricing. I already feel like my pieces are on the high end ($8-$10 per original) but they generally take 1-2 hours to make. Am I too slow? Are my prices too high? Is detailed landscape work just not a thing in the ACEO world? I rarely see them listed.
If you're a collector of any kind, or a fellow artist, I would love your input!
Every so often I get the itch to abstract my landscapes. It's usually in a completely different way each time. This time it was all lines.
I just can't decide if I want the paint lines to remain wobbly or redo them completely straight? Very interested in opinions!
Mainly only done one-offs so far, so this was fun to complie! It even has a name - The Silhouette Series. Feeling fancy tbh.
Available in my shop on TinyGallery
I am still pretty new to art, and I struggle with using canvas vs paper in general and especially with this new medium I just got - water soluble wax pastels. I really can't seem to get the values or even hues right/how I want on canvas vs a similar palette and subject on paper.
Both of these were meant to be warm mountains with cool/white shadowed snowy areas. Left square is canvas, right art card is watercolor paper.
Because the color would not lay fully on the canvas (I think this is an issue with the water soluble wax pastels, maybe?) I ended up layering too much and pushing the hues into a more unrealistic direction just to get some oomph. Which then made everything sort of muddy since it was heavily layered and, while they are opaque, they are still water-soluble, so it kept reactivating the underlying layers.
I have tried with watercolor before and had a similar issue but I thought it was a transparency problem. Acrylic is popular for canvas I know but unfortunately, I struggle to get realistic or even satisfying color with acrylic so I keep trying different mediums. Is canvas just not meant for watercolor/water soluble mediums? It did have watercolor ground on it, but still didn't behave how I would have guessed?
Is this an issue with the medium? I just got these pastels less than 2 weeks ago so I'm still learning their quirks, but they aren't a popular medium so I haven't seen much in the way of tutorials that aren't just coloring, let alone on canvas.
If anyone has any tips for using water soluble mediums with canvas, or any tips for wax pastels in general, I'd be extremely grateful.
I am still pretty new to art, and I struggle with using canvas vs paper in general and especially with this new medium I just got - water soluble wax pastels. I really can't seem to get the values or even hues right/how I want on canvas vs a similar palette and subject on paper.
Both of these were meant to be warm mountains with cool/white shadowed snowy areas. Left square is canvas, right art card is watercolor paper.
Because the color would not lay fully on the canvas (I think this is an issue with the water soluble wax pastels, maybe?) I ended up layering too much and pushing the hues into a more unrealistic direction just to get some oomph. Which then made everything sort of muddy since it was heavily layered and, while they are opaque, they are still water-soluble, so it kept reactivating the underlying layers.
I have tried with watercolor before and had a similar issue but I thought it was a transparency problem. Acrylic is popular for canvas I know but unfortunately, I struggle to get realistic or even satisfying color with acrylic so I keep trying different mediums. Is canvas just not meant for watercolor/water soluble mediums? It did have watercolor ground on it, but still didn't behave how I would have guessed?
Is this an issue with the medium? I just got these pastels less than 2 weeks ago so I'm still learning their quirks, but they aren't a popular medium so I haven't seen much in the way of tutorials that aren't just coloring, let alone on canvas.
If anyone has any tips for using water soluble mediums with canvas, or any tips for wax pastels in general, I'd be extremely grateful.
I realize this might not feel beginner, but it is beginner situation to me because although I have been an "artist" for about 4 years, I didn't paint or make art pretty much at all for 2 years or so, and I have only painted on canvas 3 or 4 times, including a terrible paint and sip a decade ago. And also, this is an entirely new medium (wax pastels) so between the two I just don't know what I am doing.
Anyway all that to say that this is new to me and I struggle with using canvas vs paper in general and especially with these pastels. I really can't seem to get the values or even hues right/how I want on canvas vs a similar palette and subject on paper.
Both of these were meant to be warm mountains with cool/white shadowed snowy areas. Left is canvas, right is watercolor paper.
Because the color would not lay fully on the canvas (I think this is an issue with the water soluble wax pastels, maybe?) I ended up layering too much and pushing the hues into a more unrealistic direction just to get some oomph. Which then made everything sort of muddy since it was heavily layered and, while they are opaque, they are still water-soluble, so it kept reactivating the underlying layers.
I have tried with watercolor before and had a similar issue. Acrylic is popular I know but unfortunately, I struggle to get realistic color with acrylic so I keep trying different mediums. Is canvas just not meant for watercolor/water soluble mediums? It did have watercolor ground on it, but still didn't behave how I would have guessed?
Is this an issue with the medium? I just got these pastels less than 2 weeks ago so I'm still learning their quirks, but they aren't a popular medium so I haven't seen much in the way of tutorials that aren't just coloring, let alone on canvas.
If anyone has any tips for using water soluble mediums with canvas, or any tips for wax pastels in general, I'd be extremely grateful.
Nibblefest Art Community Sea Life collection is live! If you have no idea what I am talking about, you should check out the little newsletter. It's is adorable and ridiculous. Very old-internet. If you're interested in a whole underwater world of sea life themed art, then search up NFAC on eBay to see what everyone is offering.
My little corner of the coral reef is below:
I have a handful of works going up tonight for Nibblefest "Sea Life", so I figured I would make my remaining abstract ocean paintings available for auction one more time.
These were painted en plein air with water straight from the Atlantic!
I just started making ACEOs in June and have been dabbling with different subjects and mediums, fun little experiments. Nothing too serious.
And then I went camping. And I made the blue tree silhouette while the dark was literally creeping in and I could barely make it out by firelight. I was weirdly captivated, even though I don't usually like my own art. I stashed it away, a little confused to be honest.
And then I came home, and made a whole bunch more over the course of a couple days. I know 6 may not seem like a lot, but since each one takes 1-2 hours, and I already work two jobs, it is a heck of a lot for me!
I can't figure out what is happening with my brain, but I'm just completely obsessed with this medium and paper combo. I've never wanted to keep my own art before - I only have a handful of my own paintings, mostly sentimental pieces - but these little pastel landscapes make me feel...something.