February 2024: Trying something new - oil pastels, part 1

Meet my new obsession: oil pastels. They are quick and opaque. They are vibrant and smudgy and all around lush.

Over the past decade I've been slowly adding mediums to my collection. I started with watercolors, brush markers and fine liners pens. Later I added in gouache, colored pencils and then acrylic. Eventually I tried substrates other than paper, venturing into wood panels, stretched canvas, and then raw canvases that Danielle and I built ourselves. Along the way I also tried monoprinting with gel plates, all different kind of inks, paint markers, spray paint, different methods of paper cutting, oil paint, wax and soft pastels, dip pens, digital art – almost anything I could get my hands on.

It can feel intimidating to me to venture into using a new material as a self-teaching newbie, but over the years I've found a pathway of getting to know new mediums in a way that feels playful and welcoming. Here's how I go about it.