Most of my artwork till now has been oil pastels with a little bit of pencil work. I've tried oil pastels on paper (several gsm weights), canvas and mounted boards with varying results and though it has proven to be a versatile medium, of late, I've been getting a bit restless with it.
I tried watercolours, ever so briefly, but found them cumbersome and myself extremely clumsy with them. Watercolour pencils worked a bit better for me but required too much effort and mundane labour.
I realised that the thing I loved most about oil-pastels was that I could use my hands (palms and fingers both) to coax the colours in whatever way I wanted. I could spread the medium with wild abandon and still be able to regain control later and focus the painting.
This was clearly something pencils and watercolours just didn't do too well.
I shied away from oil's proper simply for the kind of set-up and preparation needed to get started and the amount o technical knowledge that went into rudimentary things like colour mixing. It was while I was exploring oils that I stumbled upon acrylics.
I always thought of acrylics as a medium for use with cloth or craft but discovered that it is a painting medium fast growing in popularity. The paints are very easy to handle and dry fast. They require just water as a thinner and can be used on almost any kind of surface.
These paints work well in layers and can easily be removed for correction. Also I found a company that makes these paints with non-toxic materials that are safe to use with your hands.
My first experiment with the medium was a disaster though it helped me learn a lot about how it behaves. I'm now working on my second piece which is progressing well and will be posted here soon.
Don't get me wrong, I will still be painting with oil-pastels and very much love working with them but you should be seeing more acrylic work on this blog soon :)
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