Self portrait in Conte Crayon

This is a Conte Crayon drawing I did for an assignment in Drawing 2 class last semester.  I felt the piece came out really well, with the chiaroscuro contrasting darks and lights.  Conte Crayons are pretty awesome to work with as far as drawing mediums go.  They can be messy, with a lot of dust accumulation underneath the canvas.

The assignment was to draw a self portrait using a medium of our choice.  I felt Conte Crayon would make for decent portrait work and in the end I’m glad I went with it.

For paper, I used brown Canson Mi-Teintes drawing paper which I picked up at Jerry’s Artarama.   The piece took roughly 8-10 hours to complete.  I had a lot of fun working on this, particularly getting the reflection of the camera in the sunglasses!

Conte Crayon – Self Portrait is a post from: Oil Pastels Artist Eric D. Greene

Ladybug drawing in Oil Pastels

My latest oil pastels art … a ladybug drawing for Drawing 2 class. The assignment was to draw a bug, really up close, using oil pastels. I wish I could post some of the pieces that others did for class too. Several of them were amazing! This one turned out pretty good, I think. I am pleased with how the reflection and shininess worked out, and the water drops seem fairly realistic.

This time I used mostly Sennelier oil pastels. A few Cray-Pas Expressionist were used for coloring in major areas, also some black from that set. But I think from now on I’ll be using Senneliers for the majority of my artwork in oil pastels. They’re richer, blend better, and I also am noticing they actually stick to the paper better.

I didn’t do anything for a background. The green is 100% from the toned paper (Canson Meintes).

I have listed this piece for sale at ArtWanted.

Ladybug drawing in oil pastels is a post from: Oil Pastels Artist Eric D. Greene

It was a tremendous honor to be selected as an award winner.  There were some seriously amazing pieces by all the students in the show, and some of my personal favorites there did not take any awards (which made it an extra honor for me).  It came down to judge Nicole McCormick Santiago’s personal tastes and choices, and as she mentioned during the show – if it had been another judge, there would very likely have been a different list of award winners entirely.

My piece that won was “Cow Skull” in india ink wash:

Cow Skull (links to 800x600 size)

The full list of award winners for the show is as follows:

• President’s Award – Michelle Bradford (“Toy Collection”, oil on canvas)
• Purchase Award – Wendy W. Maness (“Sunflower”, photograph)
• Vice President’s Award – John Gregor (“Rich”, oil on canvas)
• Provost’s Award – Jennifer Ditona (“The Price of Gas”, photograph)
• Provost’s Award – Kelly Conway (“Stop, Caution, Go”, glass)
• Provost’s Award – Jacqueline Poutasse (“In the Moment”, charcoal)
• Provost’s Award – Heidi Kerger (“Crane in Water”, stoneware)
• Dean’s Award – Jerry Whitehurst (“Fountain Ballet”, alabaster glass)
• John and Karen Kise Award of Excellence in Graphic Design given in memory of Dr. and Mrs. Mearl A. Kise – Melissa Murch (“Stravinsky Poster”, computer generated image)
• Director’s Award – Donald McIntire (“Pixieparts.com”, web design)
• Jerry’s Artarama Award of Excellence for a Master Interpretation – Brittany R. Callis (“Van Gogh’s: Road With Cypress and Star”, oil pastels)
• Shelley Brooks & Chrysler Museum of Art Award of Excellence for Expressive Content – Kavita John (“Unrevealed”, photograph)
• Award of Excellence in Design/Foundations & Peninsula Fine Arts Center – Michael Draeger (“Foundation Compilation”, mixed media)
• Darrell and Sally Craig Award of Excellence in Drawing – Ferracino Freeman (“Mos Definitely”, silverpoint, chalk)
• Brutti’s & Chrysler Museum of Art Award of Excellence for Craftsmanship – Shela Edmonds (“Spring”, clay)
• Richmond Camera & Portsmouth Museums award of Excellence for Photography – Samantha Crow (“Cake”, photograph)
• Award of Excellence in Photography – Clara D. Pennix (“Bricks in Ice”, photograph)
• Award of Excellence in Painting – Stephanie H. Jones (“The Naro”, oil on canvas)
• Award of Excellence in Graphic Design – Patrick Spalding (“In Our Shadow”, computer generated image)
• Award of Excellence in Glass – Meghan Justice (“Orange and White Vases”, glass)
• Tidewater Art Alliance & One Eleven Art Award of Excellence in Drawing – Eric D. Greene (“Cow Skull”, india ink wash)
• Award of Excellence in Ceramics – Erin McDonald (“Blistered”, stoneware)
• Everett and Ann Johnston Award of Excellence in Animation – Trisha Midgett (“Glass Animation”, digital movie)
• Hartung Gallery and Art Supplies Award of Excellence for Color – Lynette Lavallee (“Emo”, oil pastels)

Congratulations to everyone.  The show will continue to be held at the Visual Arts Center, through April 26th (9am to 8pm).  The address is 340 High Street in Olde Towne Portsmouth.

By the way, if anyone listed above would like a link back to their site, I will be happy to oblige.  Just let me know at eric@ericdgreene.com.

TCC Student Art Show Award is a post from: Oil Pastels Artist Eric D. Greene

Flowers in Oil Pastels

Oil Pastel Flowers!

I did these a few nights ago.  I find oil pastels can be fun to work with — if you have artist-quality pastels!  Otherwise, it can really be frustrating and even hamper development of the piece.

The base colors here are done with Cray-Pas Expressionist, which are so-so quality in my opinion.  I used a Sennelier white almost exclusively for the white areas.  Also added Sennelier for greens reds and some yellows.

After working on this piece I went out and bought 9 more Senneliers, so now I have more variety to work with!  

Anyway, I’m fairly pleased with how this piece worked out.  I think I could have gone more dark for the shadowing inside the flowers and some in the petals.  Also, the quality of the photo here just does *not* do the piece justice!  The colors from the oil pastels actually look much richer and vibrant.

Oil Pastel Flowers is a post from: Oil Pastels Artist Eric D. Greene

Oil Pastels Drawing - Christmas Ornaments

This oil pastel drawing was done in class, and some at home from a photo.  I was pleased with the result.  Art in oil pastel can be tricky.  Although this piece turned out fairly colorful, I always remember that value is the most important.  Oil pastels can also be difficult sometimes to get the fine lines, such as around the edges of the ornaments.  You have to use just the edge of the pastel stick to get the fine line, and sometimes you can even cheat a little and use a white colored pencil or something similar (I didn’t do that in this piece btw).

I really need a better set of oil pastels. These expressionist are just not happening. Luckily I had a stick of sennelier white. Anyone feeling generous, feel free to visit Jerry’s Artarama and pick out a nice set for me. Anyway, I think this worked out rather well. Need to brighten up those yellows in back though, now that I look at it from a photographic perspective…

Oil pastels drawing – Christmas ornaments is a post from: Oil Pastels Artist Eric D. Greene

Scratchboard Art - "Faces"

This scratchboard drawing was done for my Drawing 2 class.  It was the first time I’ve worked with scratchboard as a medium.  When time permits I will be doing more scratch board!  I love doing these!

Scratchboard Drawing – “Faces” is a post from: Oil Pastels Artist Eric D. Greene