Today I also sketched for the first time with oil pastels. I have been exploring different media and decided to try something new. I bought the cheapest set in the store, so I knew they wouldn’t behave as well as if they were artist grade, but I’m not going to spend on professional pastels if I wasn’t going to like it. Also, I’ve always sketched pretty small, so it also is part of an effort on sketching bigger.
We went to sketch to the Plaza de Guaynabo, a really small and cozy town square. For it being the first time, I guess I could say the pastels felt ok. I’m not thrilled by the results, but I sincerely thought it would come out looking worse. I was sketching on 9″x12, which is more than twice the size I usually sketch in. I liked some aspects of the oil pastels, as well as disliked other. I like the spontaneity oil pastels allow, as well as the workability; you can correct big mistakes pretty easily. I also like the bright colors. Though, I’m not sure if I like them for sketching architecture, for the lack of detail achievable. Or probably I have to think differently, understand and accept the limitations of the medium, and use their strength to my advantage. I’m gonna look for some tips online and keep trying to see if I can accomplish something nice someday.
