Testing Oil Pastels

Lately I've been feeling unfocused and unmotivated with my thesis goals. I've been hard on myself this summer, especially given how much I've fallen behind since my knee injury. I find during times like this I tend to punish my poor productivity by forcing myself to continue working into evenings and weekends  all while becoming even more unproductive. Yesterday I realized I had to break the bad work-life cycle, so I set aside some time to do something creative. 

I had an untouched set of oil pastels in my art kit that I felt like testing out. I have no experience using oil pastels (and it probably shows), but the medium provided a new challenge. My pastels were very cheap, so I found they weren't as bendable as I had expected. Regardless, I think I'm happy with my first attempt!



I felt like drawing a duck, so I took a look through my blog archive and found this post. I decided to draw a Northern Shoveler that I photographed in 2012 in Kingston, Ontario. I had a much harder time with the water than anything else; as you can see, I couldn't quite get the colors right. 

I find doing artistic tasks has a way of burning out my restless energy more than anything else. Perhaps I'm growing so restless in the first place because I don't take any time to stimulate my artistic side? My thesis is very logical and math-based, so I have less opportunity to get creative. 

Let me know if you guys like these sorts of art posts! I could make a point to share something new every week or two, since I think I'll continue doing sketches more regularly. 

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