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[Chef Zomagic]

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Blah.

[Elwell]

I have been doing a lot of reading, and it seems that popular opinion is that oils can be a stepping stone to acrylics, and that acrylics are the superior paint in many ways.

Exqueeze me?
Not that that's even wrong, but it's about 180º from what I'd consider popular opinion.

[Ilaekae]

Invalid logic, OP. I do acrylics. They do what I want them to. Elwell does oils. They do what he wants them to. Others here use watercolor, gouache, clay, pencil, and ketchup. Some only use a machine. One isn't meant to be a bridge to or a replacement for the other in any way/shape/or form. You CAN use 'em together if you know what you're doin', though...

[Chris Bennett]

Figure out what you want to say and then choose the medium that best does the job. There's no rocket psychology involved - just a practical solution to a practical problem. The 'how' should always come after the 'what'.

[ShroudStar]

I just use all mediums until I find the one that makes my fingers and mind "tick". Sometimes, it's a natural inclination towards one but I always have to practice. Recently, I found myself working with nibs and ink and I've never done it seriously before; yet, now I find myself eager to continue learning. It's the same thing with watercolor - I love it but I have to use it and experiment before I can get "good".

Still, in the end, you'll know your strengths for each real-life media. Other influences work, too. I don't know how many watercolorists' books I have piled up, along with the Alan Lee and John Howe sketchbooks and even Stephanie Pui-mun Law's books. All of them have contributed, though.

[alesoun]

Play! Just play....

Specialise in what you enjoy most, because that's where your passion lies; but once you stop playing, your joy in what you do dies.

[Mirana]

I'm thoroughly confused by this post. Why on earth would you make a list of media and then knock off things? Artists may be known for one media, but we all do work with many different tools! Why would you force yourself to give up pastels if you enjoy working in them? What??

You're over-analyzing this. Just go make art.

[Elwell]

Gary Kelly (http://www.workbook.com/portfolios/kelley), Mary GrandPre (http://www.marygrandpre.com/), and Sally Wern Comport (http://www.sallywerncomport.com/), among many others, seem to have overcome the logistics of working in pastel just fine.

[krpolak]

Chef Zomagic,

Just grap one medium you feel the most confident with now and push technique forward. As simply as that.

Since you want practice colour and not really like working with pastels, then make a choice between oils and acrylics. Personaly I prefer oils, others might like acrylics. I tried number of other mediums, oils seems to be the most easy to work with, so result is closer toward my expectation. Whatever works is the best.

Once you master one medium, you might feel to come back to others.

Dont think too much about mediums, just do it :)

Regards,

K.Polak

[Grendel Grack]

It sounds as though you haven't really dedicated enough time to a single medium to tell whether or not it works for you. Learning the various application methods of a single material can take years. Don't expect to know overnight which will fit you best. If pastels seem to appeal to you, then make the decision to stick with them and learn how to deal with the "cons." Every artist has had to struggle with what you are going through right now. As Elwell pointed out, there are many very successful pastel artists that create beautiful work (many of them do it without any fixative at all).

[Chef Zomagic]

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[Chef Zomagic]

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[Chef Zomagic]

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[Elwell]

You don't have to be rude about it; if you have never encountered this logic, perhaps do more reading. It's not that hard to grasp; Acrylics have a great many practical advantages over oils (you can't deny that not inhaling solvent fumes is an advantage, for instance), and can generally do everything oils can do.

Oh boy, I'm rude AND uninformed! One more for the hat trick!

[Mirana]

You didn't read my post very closely, I'm afraid.

Mygosh, you are so right. I probably just got a glazed over look with that much text. Probably drooled a bit. Maybe you should paint me a picture? I do better with visuals.


.....when you finish analyzing which media is the one you should use, anyway. :D

Oh boy, I'm rude AND uninformed! One more for the hat trick!

You should really stop teaching. And painting. And speaking to people... :P

(Okay, maybe not last one...you make me laugh, you rude man!)

[Chef Zomagic]

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[krpolak]

This guy had strong bias against oils and this article shows it. Its not objective.

Regards,

K.Polak

[cmalidore]

First post said something about "popular opinion" if I recall.... did they change the definition on me suddenly?

[dcorc]

This thread shows why infinite edit time on posts is a bad idea.

[SoufMeng]

The other day i was trying to remember what kind of smiley should be created for Ca, now i think i can remember (http://www.intrazoneinfo.com/images/cadenas.jpg)...

[Ilaekae]

...wow...

I feel so...enightened...