I decided to go with a NuPastel kit of 96 assorted colors for a start. Definately lower line at less than $1 a piece, but I don't need high quality pastels yet.

Michele
I'm definitely going into oils, they've been my intended career since I was 5. Unfortunately I've only done three paintings in oil in my life. I've had some bad experiences with them. One of them was being banned from paint for two years when I was 8. (I had no idea red paint would stick to white carpet like that.) Anyway...

When I was very young -young compared to what I am now, I went to the library and picked up books on Da Vinci, Ingres, Rembrandt and copied their many drawings, and I was criticized for creating nothing of my own. Now I find out I was doing the right thing...

Matthew

Matthew,

It's really exciting getting a big new box of color. I would check out this link below and see what can be done with a very few nupastel sticks.

http://www.williamwhitaker.com/B_HTM...6_tech/red.htm

If you can't find some suitable reference material I'm sure we can oblige you here.

And please don't tell your mother what I said.

IM A BIG FAN OF WILLIAM WHITAKER! And all this time I thought he did it that piece in Red Conte. When I first saw it I fell in love with it and did a charcoal study of it. It turned out rather well, a friend even begged me for it, I gave it to her.

I hope I can't get in trouble for duplicating his work.

Actually I've done it all, ruined T-shirts, carpets and even a wall. Thank goodness it was about to be repainted anyway.

Matthew

Artists copy other artists' work all the time as a learning exercise. It only becomes a problem if the copyist tries to pass the work off as his own original creation. Just sign it "Severson after Whitaker" and you'll be fine. Bill's a charming and generous artist and he'd be flattered that you wanted to learn from his work.

Just a thought, or really a question...

Don't you think it is much harder to learn edge control with pastels?

For me, it is much easier to form a figure with oils than pastels.

Just in case someone is interested Dick Blick sells open stock Yarka . :sunnysmil