Hey, Everyone!
Remember when I used my students' drawing time to create something of my own?
I did it again and it was so much fun!
The first part of the lesson was all about discovering what oil pastels are capable of. My students and I realized that we can get more than 20 colors if we had only red, yellow and blue (+white and black). We learned about a few cool effects we can accomplish with the pastels, like blending and mixing colors, and making patterns by scratching off the top layers of the pastels.
After we did a few experiments, we were ready to draw our first oil pastel masterpiece. The theme was "a colorful paysage". I drew different elements and suggestions on the white board and explained a few composition principles (like how you shouldn't draw something very close to or tangental to the border of the picture; or how the different elements should balance each other with their form, size and color).
The children were hesitant at first, wondering if what they were making was "good enough" (oh, honey, don't I know the struggle!) but then the work took them over and they started enjoying themselves with all the little effects they were able to do.
While my students were drawing, I used the time to create something of my own. I told myself I was just doing it to show them how the pastels worked but in actuallity I needed the creative distraction. I'd been feeling a bit down lately and this colorful enterprise lifted my spirit and made me appreciate just... being able to create.
My favorite parts of the drawing are the little fishies and the house with the picket fence ❤️
At the end of the lesson my students were happy and excited to continue drawing with the oil pastels. Not all paysages were ready but we'll have time to finish them next time.
I hope you like them and if you've tried drawing with oil pastels, which was your favorite thing? What did you find most fulfilling?
P.S. Here's an additional experiment one of the children made, not quite in the technique we were using but cool nevertheless!