Remember Steve Martin in The Jerk? The scene where he jumps up and down shouting, “The new phonebook is here! The new phonebook is here!!” Well, that’s how I felt when I came home from work and found THE PACKAGE on the front porch. Felt like jumping up and down shouting,”The new paint sticks are here! The new paint sticks are here!!”
For all I know, maybe I did. Sometimes I just black out from all the excitement. I do recall racing down to the studio and tearing open the box. Because a few days earlier I indulged, that’s right–I treated myself to TWO sets of R&F Pigment Sticks. Two sets. Because. I. Am. Worth. It.
Oil Bars. Paint Sticks. Pigment Sticks. If you’ve never used them, you owe yourself. They make oil painting a hands-on experience. And if you’ve never tried R&F, you owe yourself big time. Because they are, without a doubt, the MOST FUN way to paint.
And they’re not paying me to say that. I just love ’em so much I want to spread the word to all my art peeps.
I bought the portrait set, which is a wonderful collection of earthy tones, and the translucent set. They came packaged in cutle little pre-gessoed cradled boards. In other words, there was no excuse not to dive right in.
So I did. Look at that yummy lusciousness. Like lipstick.
Easy as using a crayon. If the crayon was made of soft yummy butter.
Rub some on, then squish with my fingers. Or palms. And yes, I wear gloves. Couple of reasons for the gloves–safety and cleanup.
I had no plan, was just playing. Might tone the colors down a little before the wax. Then again, might not.
Here’s another little one I had lying around. It was boring. Turquoise background with gold/beige square in the center. But a couple hits of translucent yellow and one of the earthy reds and I’m much happier.
Tomorrow: More paint. Maybe some wax.
Oooh – I have some of those R&F oil sticks – but I’ve never painted an entire piece with them. Yours are fabulous – an inspiration. I might have to purchase the translucent ones — do you paint directly on the wood panel?
The only pieces I’ve done entirely with the paint sticks are small, no bigger than 12X12. For big things I use a combination of tube and stick. The surface is either gesso or plaster.
Cool – looks like playing in oil is in my future! Do you use plastic of Paris on the wood panel?
My favorite is joint compound. It has a longer working time than plaster of paris. I find it easier to work with, especially since I buy it pre-mixed in a big tub at the hardware store. And it’s cheap!
It takes a little experimenting to get the feel for how thick you can go. I prefer thin but still thick enough to carve marks into. Some of the people in the plaster class had difficulty making it stick but I never did. Think that might have something to do with humidity and temperature.
That being said, I dropped on of my bigger pieces today and lost a small chip from one of the corners. I just painted over the exposed wood and figure I’ll fill it in with wax.
Thanks Susan – I’m going to experiment! 🙂
Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
OH wow! As I was reading this, I was thinking “YES!” I’m so glad you splurge and treat yourself. I feel the same about those wonderful art supplies.
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Art supplies are my crack, Naomi. My triple chocolate brownie. My happy time treat 🙂
I loves me my arty things!
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