Cattleya Orchid in Oil Pastel

Work today has been kinda slow, & I've had a lot of time to try to work on recreating the study I did roughly a month ago of a yellow cattleya.

Cattleya Study

Oil Pastels are a fairly new medium to me, & I've tried just about every method/process I could find from a Google search about how to use them.  Then came the realization that I just needed to keep working with them until I found my own way.  Now I'm at the point where I think I've found my own groove, & wanted to document at least parts of the process I went through... mostly so that I'll have a reference of what's worked & the appearance of each step.  SO, here's a few steps I took.

outline & underpainting prep

 

 

1.   I always choose the size first.  The paper is a sheet of 9x12 Canson Mi Teints.  The picture size is 6x9.  The margins were marked, then the outline (what you see in purple & magenta,) was drawn using Prismacolor Verithin hard lead pencils.  After that, a light layer of base colors were added to the blossoms & foliage using Derwent Inktense ink pencils.  (If you haven't used these, they are an awesome medium - use like watercolor pencils, but the color is more vibrant, & once dry after washed over with a wet brush, the color is permanent, & won't migrate/bleed.)

Derwent Inktense Wash

(*NOTE* - if using non-watercolor paper like I did, make sure you work fast & with as little water on the brush as you can so that the paper doesn't warp & become wrinkled.)

(back) Hard OP's by Erengi, (front) THE KING of OP's, Soft OP's by Sennelier

2.   When the wash is completely dry, it's time to start applying the pastels.  I've found out that the way I work best is to use a harder OP for the first layer or two.  My favorite of the harder pastels are Erengi ArtAspirer's.  A hard OP will often create a LOT of crumbs; (it's often difficult for me to remember not to try to brush them off with my hand) I remove the large crumbs with a dry, stiff brush, then use my favorite pastel tool - a Color Shaper - to do an initial blending. 

When I'm ready to move on to the softer OP's, I use the Color Shaper to make sure all the tooth is filled in & the surfaces covered are smooth.  This is a personal preference.

first layer - blended & finished

3.   Now it's time to move on to the softer, smoother, beautifully creamy soft OP's.  My favorites, & the ones I used in this picture are Sennelier.  Detail, detail, detail... tiny amount of blending... a little more detail & color... remove crumbs.. & VOILA!

finished!!!

 

I'm pretty certain I've overworked this...

My main problem with creating any sort of work in general is knowing when it is finished.  Sometimes I go too far, other times I don't go far enough.  HOWEVER, I do love the brightness of this, & the colors I used.  So I'm satisfied - & that's huge.