Over the years I have had to opportunity to work with many different materials and mediums. I know in my younger years I was always drawn to acrylic or tempera paint. I was not really a fan of watercolor as it is a more difficult medium and takes time and experience to know how to manipulate it properly. I really have never had the experience of working with oil paint, but have always wanted to try it. It seems like Bob Ross makes it look so easy. I like the idea that it does not dry quickly and it can be worked and worked, but I may not like that if I actually did it. At first using gouache paint I also
found to be most frustrating. In time I foun
d that I preferred gouache paint to all the paints.
Below is a piece i completed using black gouache paint and a piece using ink and gouache:
I also was never a fan of pastels, oil or chalk. Although they did have vibrant color, it was messy and I don’t like how hard it is to keep the final pieces from getting messed up. Chalk and charcoal is also a medium where I enjoyed the flexibility and smooth finish, but could not really enjoy using the material due to the mess factor. It also was so difficult to keep from getting smudges or rubbing off on something else.
Finally when it boils down, I would conclude I prefer working in graphite pencils and color pencils. Even though these are the most simple of mediums I feel they offer flexibility and the opportunity to introduce other mediums to enhance the final if needed.
Below are samples done in color pencil:
