Harbour Sail, oil pastel

[sundiver]

Another WetCanvas refugee here! Nice to see familiar faces, and nice to see new ones as well.
This is a recently commissioned 8x10 version of a more panoramic scene I painted a few years ago, on UART 400-grit with a variety of brands of oil pastels.
Thanks for looking.

 

[pcj]

This is really nice, especially the sunlight and the colours.

Patricia

 

[Terri]

Oh, I love this!! You have captured a back-lit scene beautifully, sundiver! I love the softness of your op's. It looks luscious!

Your choice of the red horizon is so wonderful.

So do you like working with sanded papers for OP? I've worked with Pastelmat and, while it's nice and heavy, it does tend to eat up the sticks.

 

[Jo Castillo]

This is gorgeous. You have a great touch with the OP. I find them very difficult.

 

[dupliKate100]

Oh Wendy....this is so beautiful. I love the red, and light on the water.

 

[Queen Bee]

The whole piece is lovely. As others have said sunlight on the water is wonderful.

 

[ColorEnthusiast]

Oh wow, just beautiful.

Esther

 

[laika]

Beautiful, sundiver! I would not have guessed OPs; you worked some magic with them.

 

[Artyczar]

Love the colors in this, in the sail. Really nice, and welcome if I haven't welcomed you yet.

 

[Donna T]

It's nice to see you here, Wendy! I think I remember the original version of this one. This is really beautiful! I didn't know you could use oil pastels on UArt but it makes sense.

 

[Enyaw]

Beautiful. Not like a Monet but it reflects Monet as my first thoughts went to Monet's painting of fishing boats at sea.

 

[Terri]

It's nice to see you here, Wendy! I think I remember the original version of this one. This is really beautiful! I didn't know you could use oil pastels on UArt but it makes sense.

I'm also curious about this paper. Sanded paper does lay down the oil pastels in a beautiful way (this piece is a prime example!) but I have found oil pastels just waste away under them.

I'm curious about this paper vs Pastelmat - are they about the same grit?

 

[sundiver]

Pcj, Terri, Jo, Karen, QueenB, ColorE, laika, Donna, Artyczar, and Enyaw, thanks so much for your kind words!

Sanded surfaces are my go-to for oil pastels, probably because I came to them from soft pastels after discovering I am allergic to dust. People who came to them after oil paint often prefer a smoother surface. Also, sanded papers are more accommodating to broken color.
Pastelmat (and Senellier LaCarte) with oil pastels is like drawing with peanut butter on dry toast. UART feels like, well, sandpaper, and takes more layers. If you've ever used Wallis, it's more like that.

 

[Terri]

I've not used Wallis, or this UArt paper, but you sure have me interested, sundiver! For the last year or so I pretty much stuck with Arches Oil paper. Light texture, heavy weight, priced reasonably.

There was a time when I tried all kinds of paper, mixing and matching with various OP brands. Not so much these days.

Thanks for this info on your beautiful painting!

 

[mbeckett]

wow! spectacular lighting! nice to see you here Wendy!

 

[sundiver]

Terri, I also put sanded clear gesso on watercolor paper. There are several brands that make some equivalent. You could try that as a less expensive option if you're exploring the possibilities.

Thanks, Mike, back atcha!

 

[Trier]

Beautiful !!

Could you please tell me whether you use any kind of fixative at any stage in a work such as this? My OP's never seem to dry and have caused problems smearing on other works or things they contact.

Thanks,and a personal welcome to you Wendy.

 

[Sanlynn]

Wow, this is just gorgeous!

 

[redfox]

This is so beautiful. I especially like the light and the reflections on the water. Very well done.

 

[sundiver]

Thank you, Sanlynn , redfox and Trier!
There is no fixative for oil pastels that I know of, that can actually dry the stuff. The manufacturers will tell you that o.p.s never dry. I often leave the work for a few days to harden a bit, before I can add more layers.
Perhaps because I use sanded grounds, the pastel doesn't easily rub off on other things. My white cat has been known to take naps on my work, and both she and the work tend to emerge unscathed except for the odd hair I have to pick off.