Day 24 of 30

"Arabian"

"Nu" Pastels

11" X 7.5"

$25

(Shipping $13)

I decided to try out my box of "NU" pastels since artists rave about them all the time.  Well, I'm not fond of them, I STRUGGLED to paint this and if you know me, I don't like to struggle.  One time I was painting with another artist, and I was painting a watercolor of a rose and it just wasn't working, so in a fit of rage, I tore it to shreds.  She opened her eyes wide and her draw dropped in total shock of what I had done.  But she learned from that.  She (and I) learned it's okay to scrap a piece of work if you are frustrated.  I nearly did it to this one but I gave my self a break.  Why?  Well, I'm in this painting challenge which is enough stress on it's own, besides that, I'm painting with what feels like a whole new medium, (I found out I don't like HARD pastels), and also, it's only the second time I've tried to do a horse.  I decided to be kind to myself.  Over the years I've learned you just never know what someone will buy.  One man's trash is another man's treasure!  

The other reason I wanted to do a horse in NU pastels (which are hard thin sticks of pastels), is I wanted to do a quick study of whether I wanted to work in pastels or oils for painting the horse for the cover of the book I will be doing by year's end.  Yup, it will be oils!  (SO MUCH EASIER!)

Part of the frustration I had as a child coloring was I didn't want to be the one filling in the lines, I wanted to be the one MAKING the lines.  As a small one, that was the best way I could describe that I wanted to be an artist.  Back when I was a kid growing up in the late fifties, early sixties, my Mom could give me a coloring book and crayons and I'd be good for hours!  (I'm sure she did most of her housework knowing I wasn't straying from wherever I was working.)  But I was frustrated because all I had were crayons.  Back then, kids didn't have markers and watercolors or more.  Just crayons.  Good thing I grew up in the town where they make CRAYOLA crayons...which is Easton, Pennsylvania.  It's a company called "Binney & Smith".  They are also the manufacturers of Liquitex supplies.  (Ah, now you know why I LOVE Liquitex!  My secret is out!)  

Here's some trivia for you.  If you have a real old box of Crayola crayons, turn it over and look at the back, it says, "made in NY, NY".  NOPE!  The BOX was made there.  The crayons were made in Pennsylvania.  How they got away with that for years is beyond me.  But, that didn't last, and now it reads correct.  (You know I still have my crayons from back then, don't you?)  

Oh, and that magical box of 64 with the sharpener on the back of the box?  The box is built around the sharpener, not the other way around.  Now you know!  

So being frustrated as a child doing my art, then developed into the frustrations of deciding if I work in oils, acrylics, watercolor, pastels, graphite, charcoal, pen & ink?  Does it ever end?  

People sometime ask, "How do you know if you're going to do it in what medium?  Sometimes I know for sure, as some things just lend itself to certain methods of creation, but then there's days like today that are experimental, and that adds to the charm of learning.  Always learning!  

Never give up!