BlueJackal
12-20-2004, 09:09 PM
Hi,
I've been a lurker around here for some time. I posted a few times long ago (probably a year or more ago) in regards to oil pastels, but now I'm pretty much mainly using soft pastels and watercolors. I'm not great at either one, but I like to think I'm getting better.
Anyway, just to give you a bit of background on myself, I'm a radar technician in the Marine Corps. Living in the barracks is a bit frustrating in regards to art. Our belongings must be secured in our dressers, wall lockers or drawers whenever we're not in the room, so I have to pull my supplies out each time I use them. Also, because we are often on the move, and you can really only take so much with you, only my very favorite works stay out of the trash. I wish I knew of a way to more easily keep my finished art, but it seems near impossible. I can't afford to frame the work, and I can't just wrap it in glassine and store it, since it will invariably be shifted around now and then. It's tough at times being an artists in the corps, and you occassionally get odd looks from people, but it's a rewarding life, and I've seen and experienced things that some people never will, and can share that in my art.
Like I said, I work mainly in pastel and a bit in watercolor. I've got a *long* way to go before my art is what I would consider 'good', but it's fun to experiment and learn, and find things that work. I really want to say thanks to all of you on the forums here who have contributed demos, suggestions, tips, etc. It really helps a lot. I would never have really gotten into art at all, I think, if I hadn't stumbled onto these forums some time ago, and found myself awed by the things people were creating. I hope to start contributing as often as possible, though I may be heading out to Japan soon, and I have no idea what the internet situation on base is there.
I like Canson Mi-Tientes and Art Spectrum sanded paper (Though lately I've just been buying their white colourfix primer and using gouache to make my own colors). I'm currently using Rembrandt/W&N/Faber-Castell, and am awaiting a set of Sennelier and a set of Yarkas. I think the biggest thing I still need to work on is really 'seeing' the subject. I've noticed, looking back at sketches I did only a year ago, how much detail I passed over, never even noticing it was there.
Again, thank you to all the great members here, and I hope to get to know you all better in this coming year!
Jack
I've been a lurker around here for some time. I posted a few times long ago (probably a year or more ago) in regards to oil pastels, but now I'm pretty much mainly using soft pastels and watercolors. I'm not great at either one, but I like to think I'm getting better.
Anyway, just to give you a bit of background on myself, I'm a radar technician in the Marine Corps. Living in the barracks is a bit frustrating in regards to art. Our belongings must be secured in our dressers, wall lockers or drawers whenever we're not in the room, so I have to pull my supplies out each time I use them. Also, because we are often on the move, and you can really only take so much with you, only my very favorite works stay out of the trash. I wish I knew of a way to more easily keep my finished art, but it seems near impossible. I can't afford to frame the work, and I can't just wrap it in glassine and store it, since it will invariably be shifted around now and then. It's tough at times being an artists in the corps, and you occassionally get odd looks from people, but it's a rewarding life, and I've seen and experienced things that some people never will, and can share that in my art.
Like I said, I work mainly in pastel and a bit in watercolor. I've got a *long* way to go before my art is what I would consider 'good', but it's fun to experiment and learn, and find things that work. I really want to say thanks to all of you on the forums here who have contributed demos, suggestions, tips, etc. It really helps a lot. I would never have really gotten into art at all, I think, if I hadn't stumbled onto these forums some time ago, and found myself awed by the things people were creating. I hope to start contributing as often as possible, though I may be heading out to Japan soon, and I have no idea what the internet situation on base is there.
I like Canson Mi-Tientes and Art Spectrum sanded paper (Though lately I've just been buying their white colourfix primer and using gouache to make my own colors). I'm currently using Rembrandt/W&N/Faber-Castell, and am awaiting a set of Sennelier and a set of Yarkas. I think the biggest thing I still need to work on is really 'seeing' the subject. I've noticed, looking back at sketches I did only a year ago, how much detail I passed over, never even noticing it was there.
Again, thank you to all the great members here, and I hope to get to know you all better in this coming year!
Jack