Anyone trying out new media?

[Starflower]

I just bought new art supplies after rats ate all my oil pastels and paint sticks in my detached garage studio. The studio has been mostly dormant since I got preggers anyway and now I'm trying to get back into the loop.

I love doing mixed media and usually start out using nupastels or conte crayons. Today I was at Daniel Smith's and they told me that they can be kind of hazardous. Well, DUH! But I had never really thought about it! I stopped working in oils when I got pregnant. But I hadn't thought about the dust from the chalky art supplies before this. Don't know why since it seems like a no-brainer. So since I am still recovering from pneumonia here I decided to try some new stuff:

Colored pencils (water soluble) and also some water color crayons. They seem similar in texture to the oil pastels in that they're softer than the regular water color pencils. But I don't know that they're very blendable without water. I'm going to be doing some experimenting.

I'm working on some book illustrations so I wanted something with a finer point than the oil pastels would provide anyway. So I'm hoping I'll enjoy these new tools and be able to wean myself off the nupastels at least until I'm feeling better.

I'm also looking into doing some altered books because I love doing mixed media.

Anyone else trying out anything new to them? Or does anyone have any pointers for using the water color pencils/crayons?

[beansricerevolt]

I am taking an art class on airbrushing. It starts next week. I am really excited!
I have never used this medium. I really wouldn't of picked this class but it was a gift and now I am glad to have the chance to go!

I LOVE water color pencils. I usually color with the pencil as if i were coloring with a color pencil and then use a wet paint brush (just water) to shade, blend ect.

[xochimama]

Originally Posted by Starflower

Anyone else trying out anything new to them? Or does anyone have any pointers for using the water color pencils/crayons?

I've only used the watercolor pencils once before and I found it really took some time and experimentation to control the amount of pigment that I wanted to deposit on the drawing. The pencil texture is always so light, but once you add the brush & water, some of those pigments get very dark! And I never got used to the "grainy" texture left behind by undissolved pigment particles.

BUT, having said that, I think it depends on what you are doing and how much time you can/want to invest in learning the new media. All new media takes time, of course, until it becomes second nature and one can focus on the conceptual and thematic issues of the work.

BTW, I think some of those watercolor pencil pigments can be equally hazardous as w/ oil paint. Just minus the fumes. Gloves and frequent hand washing is probably a good idea.

Another idea for book illustration is gouache. Or simply pencil and watercolor.

How exciting for you to be involved in this new media! Cool! How is old Daniel Smith, anyway? I lived in Seattle many years ago and haunted that place, too...

[alisonsage]

i used to paint exclusively in oils, but had to stop when i got preggers with dd#1. since i'm preggers again i am breaking out the guache and water colors. the style of painting i normally use involves multiple transparent glaze layers so i think it will translate to water colors very well.i am actually really excited- it will be much quicker to complete a painting, and, i am hoping, i will be much freeer (is that a word lol) as well!

[xochimama]

Hi alisonsage,
This forum doesn't see a whole lot of use—I'm glad to see another painter-mama! I am also an oil painter. I actually painted up until dd's birth: had a solo show exactly one month before she was born-- boy, was I huge at that opening! I was extremely diligent about ventilation and using nitrile gloves...but there are risks, of course.

My dd is just about the same age as your first, too. Do you get work done when dc is around?

[alisonsage]

Originally Posted by xochimama

Hi alisonsage,
This forum doesn't see a whole lot of use—I'm glad to see another painter-mama! I am also an oil painter. I actually painted up until dd's birth: had a solo show exactly one month before she was born-- boy, was I huge at that opening! I was extremely diligent about ventilation and using nitrile gloves...but there are risks, of course.

My dd is just about the same age as your first, too. Do you get work done when dc is around?

I am so impressed that you kept painting through your pregnancy, and had a show to boot! It's s nice to have a place to meet other artist mamas!

I am such a horribly messy painter that I thought it best to stay away from anything toxic wile preggers and nursing. No matter how hard I try yo be careful I eventually hit the zone and when I come back to reality I have paint on my face and under my gloves, as well as turp splattered all over. I also think that when I became pregnant with DD I was ready for a break and a change.

To be honest, I haven't done any fine art in a very long time. I've been doing much more crafty stuff- lots of sewing, I had my own wool soaker biz for a while and got very into dying yarn, and recently I have been making wool play food. I like the crafty stuff because so much of it is about process and I find that very soothing. Also, I used to smoke and I really strongly associated cigs with the creative process and I wanted to give myself lots of time away and a change of media so I could break that association.

I really feel the strong urge to start painting again, though. Maybe because I know when the new baby comes it will be hard to find the time or focus, and maybe because the introspection of pregnancy is making me want to reflect and create.

Either way there is no working when DD is awake! She is a wild 17 mo old. I have to work during her nap times and after she goes to bed. I think this can be good, though, because I won't have time to overwork a piece! The time factor is another reason why I am trying water paints over oils (I just can't do acrylics- I can't get glazes to look the way I like.)

[xochimama]

Originally Posted by alisonsage

No matter how hard I try yo be careful I eventually hit the zone and when I come back to reality I have paint on my face and under my gloves, as well as turp splattered all over.

To be honest, I haven't done any fine art in a very long time. I've been doing much more crafty stuff- lots of sewing, I had my own wool soaker biz for a while and got very into dying yarn, and recently I have been making wool play food. I like the crafty stuff because so much of it is about process and I find that very soothing. Also, I used to smoke and I really strongly associated cigs with the creative process and I wanted to give myself lots of time away and a change of media so I could break that association.

I really feel the strong urge to start painting again, though. Maybe because I know when the new baby comes it will be hard to find the time or focus, and maybe because the introspection of pregnancy is making me want to reflect and create.

Either way there is no working when DD is awake! She is a wild 17 mo old. I have to work during her nap times and after she goes to bed. I think this can be good, though, because I won't have time to overwork a piece! The time factor is another reason why I am trying water paints over oils (I just can't do acrylics- I can't get glazes to look the way I like.)

I'm impressed that you work at night! I am usually so wiped out that I fall asleep nursing dd by 8.30 or 9.00 o'clock. For a long time I had a fantasy about going to the studio in the evenings, but somehow we just never got dd on a schedule that made that possible...

Now she goes to part-time daycare and I go to my studio 2-3 days/week, although I'm starting to think about giving up my studio in order to stay home with her. It would be a real bummer for me; I love the space, great light, one really nice big painting/viewing wall, and there is a great coffee shop downstairs. But alas, it's expensive, I just broke up with my gallery and am not selling and daycare ain't perfect.

Nothing is perfect, I know, but I just want the best for my daughter while still attending to my own creative needs, kwim?

I am a knitter myself (!) and also have a little biz on the side—not wool though... I teach Music Together classes for little kids...it's a busy life!