Saddle Billed Stork in pastel pencils

My latest pastel pencil project. I used Faber Castell Pitt pastel pencils on Canson pastel papers. 

I have said I wouldn't but any more pastel pencils but we'll I didn't exactly. I bought nyoni chalk-pastel color pencils from Lightwish. According to their post on Amazon the are like pastel pencils but they're not. I'll find out with my next project.

CLICK HERE to see the inboxing.

Nu Pastel & Caran D'Ache pastel pencils: Yellow Weaver Birds building th...

See how I created this pastel painting.

I had intended this be mostly pastel pencil over some NuPastel but it didnt' work out that way. I used a lot of NuPastel under, over and in between with pastel pencils (Caran D'Ache and Generals) several lengths behind. But, in the end, I came up with a finished piece of a very interesting social group, Yellow Weaver birds, in which the males build the nests, find mates and hope the prospective mate approves of the nest. Click below to watch the birth and growth of this image. 

Three Tomte

This is my latest endeavor, Portrait of Three Tomte, done using pastel pencils on pastel paper.

Please Click on the image to see the YouTube Video. It's just shy of 20 minutes in time lapse."

This is the still life I created to pose for this "portrait". Great Fun. Lesson learned, Sofft Pastel blending tools didn't work so well with pastel pencils and always, always (for me) use the smooth side of the paper.

Stalking the Wild Tortoise... patience is the key

Experiment with acrylic ink and soft pastels.

 I used Sennelier soft pastels, General's pastel pencils, Sennelier abstract inks on Stonehenge hot watercolor paper to create this painting, and experiment was a but anticlimactic.

The painting required that I apply fixative twice during the process so that the pastel would hold. 

I began with creating an abstract background.

Applying the first layer of pastels was difficult. They wouldn't hold. After I applied the fixative, the pastel began hold. And a third application was called for. Then I used pastel pencils for better detail. 

Still, when finished, I wasn't pleased. I hadn't been able to properly draw with the pastels over the plastic surface. Still, I did manage to get volume and contrast on the Egret. 

There is a YouTube video coming.