These water soluble wax crayons from Caran d’ache are so fun. I’ve been playing with them here at my desk for hours now. I have a feeling this might turn into a late night session because I can’t seem to stop, and why should I? I got nothing better to do, except feed the fur babies and eat some homemade soup.
This first one is a little stiff. I was trying to get a feel for what I can expect from these wax pastels. I’ve been experimenting and testing these babies out since I’ve never used them before. I drew her with the neocolors, and then blended out my harsh lines with a wet paint brush. It instantly turned into a watercolor painting, instead of a drawing. I’m pretty amazed at how easily the lines, and colors blended together.
I painted the background using tempera kwik stix, which is also a super fun art supply you should have around your studio. I love how quickly I can paint in a background, and go from drab to fab with these things.
This guy was more fun because after I was finished painting him, I went back in with the white wax pastel, and left marks, so it appears to be a watercolor painting and a drawing at the same time.
I’m starting to get a bit obsessed with figure painting again. I need to join Peggi Knoll Roberts patreon, and then wooo boy. I’m going to hit the road running. I’ve been a HUGE fan of Peggi, and her work for 20 years now. I’ve put off joining because I’m afraid I might ditch portraits for figures, at least for a while..I guess there’s no harm in that, so I’ll probably join soon. Maybe September would be a good time?
This is fugly af, and I’m shaking my head at how stupid I am. I was showing my husband how these wax pastels work (as if I know so soon. Omg..ego, seriously??!!), and I drew some hard lines, and found out the pastels don’t blend out the same on copy paper as it did on recycled cardboard/chipboard. I had to scrub at the lines, and it turned into a tree gone horribly wrong because I’m the absolute worst at landscapes, but it’s what my husband likes to draw. I was trying to entice him into wanting to draw with the new wax pastels, but he was like meh. So, I blew it. He’s already lost interest, and I can’t say I blame him (omgosh that is UGLY LOL), so I turned it into a face, of course. Still ugly, but I like the dude portrait I painted above, so Imma just gonna let this one slide into the trash, and not worry about it. 🤣
Yeah, so if you’ve seen other artists use these Neocolor II wax crayons, and been wondering if you will like them, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say you probably will. They feel expensive, and if you like messing around with a paint brush loaded with water, you’ll have fun, I’m sure. These are a little pricey, which is why I’ve put off buying them. I ended up settling for a 15 piece set to start out. I figured if it sucked, I could always sell them on eBay. Luckily, I won’t have to do that, and I’ll be buying them again down the road. Next time maybe I’ll order the 30 color set? Woohoo! Something to look forward to in a year or so. I have a feeling these will last a long time, since they’re not nearly as creamy as oil pastels. It will take a while to use one up.
Okay, that’s gonna do it for me. Hope you’re having a fabulously creative weekend.
PS: NOT sponsored. I have been sponsored for some oil pastels that I will be writing about soon, but I’m transparent when I get sponsored deals, which isn’t often. Caran d’ache, hit me up anytime.
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May you be well, happy and peaceful. ☸️
I kinda want to try these now. Too bad you couldn’t get your husband interested in them. Do you guys normally make art together? I share a studio with my wife so we are often making stuff at the same time.