Art Class At The Mansion, Using Oil Pastels

Not everyone who comes to my art class at The Mansion thinks they are good at art or even want to make art.  But they seem to enjoy being there and creating. There are also some people who  know they are good artists and totally enjoy it.

Today I brought some art books to the class to show how different artist paint the sky using a variety of colors and techniques.  It was looking at the sky in all its colors that made me think of brining oil pastels to the class.

But we didn’t end up drawing the sky.

It seemed enough just to introduce the oil pastels and let everyone get used to how they were different from the other mediums, like markers, crayons and colored pencils,  they were used to working with.

I explained how pressing down harder or softer would make different textures and to use the side of the pastel too.  I showed how to blend colors together, and use a pale pastel to blend select parts of the drawing.

I don’t know how much of what I said stuck, but for a good part of the hour,  everyone in the class had their heads down and were focused on the paper in front of them.

And everyone used the pastels in their own way.  That’s what I want to happen the most,  that kind of freedom.

It was Art who gave me an idea for the next class, when he looked at the cover of one of the books I brought in that had a painting of a morning glory by Georgia Okeeffe on it.

“Now that’s beautiful,” he said.

And I saw how it would be the perfect thing to use pastels to draw because of the simplicity of the shape and the delicacy of the flower.   It would be a good starting point for people to move in their own direction from.

And even if it is more specific than usual, I know each one will be unique, because each person, even the new people who only come to the class once, have they own style.  Even if they don’t know it’s a style.

But then as much as it’s an art class, creating is really only a part of it.  The other is us all  talking, telling and hearing each other stories and being together.