A In Art

Back to oil pastels and a night scene this time.

Night scenes with oil pastels are usually a mission; you end up using most of your black just to get the depth right. Working on black paper changes that completely. Now the focus shifts to building up the light instead.

Which means my black pastel can finally get a bit of a break.

Simple scene, but a different way of approaching it. 🙌

Still exploring coloured pencil on black paper. 🙌

This time, a few roses growing in from the left, keeping the lines loose and letting the colour do the work.

I’m enjoying how different this surface is to white paper. You have to think about what to leave out just as much as what to add, and how the background works with the sketch instead of against it.

Less layering than usual, more focus on placement and colour.

A good space to experiment.

Something a bit different: coloured pencil on black paper.

Lavender worked in with loose, intentional lines, keeping the focus on colour and contrast rather than overworking the piece.

Bright tones do most of the work here against the black.

Simple, but a good one to sit with. 🌱

A more minimal piece on black paper.

A single lily in reds, yellows, and oranges, with a green stem and a few leaves. The background is left untouched, allowing the colour and contrast to carry the composition.

It might look incomplete at first, but stopping here was intentional. Not everything needs more detail.

I’ve always appreciated minimalism, even though most of my work tends to be more layered and detailed.

Oil pastels on paper A4

A full view of the sketch. 🙌

What started as loose marks turned into a field on fire, hills, a river running between them, and a sky picking up the glow of the flames.

This wasn’t built in layers like I usually work. It was more direct, putting colour down, letting the black paper do its part, and working with brighter tones that actually hold against it.

The lines are rough, the process was messy, and there wasn’t much control involved.
The image formed while I was working on it.

Oil pastels A4

Close-up of a new sketch, this time on black paper. 🔥

I didn’t expect to enjoy working on it this much. It completely changes the way you approach things. Instead of adding dark areas, you have to leave them, which means putting more effort into building up the lighter tones.

Also, it gives my black oil pastel a bit of a break for once.

I went into this without much of a plan, just letting the sketch develop as I went.

Almost finished with this one — just the small details left, which I’m honestly avoiding for now. 🌸

The background ended up taking on a life of its own. The blue and white blurred together in a way that almost looks like liquid — completely unplanned, but I went with it. The flower stays in focus, everything else just fades back.

Lately, my approach has shifted. Less control, less overthinking, fewer layers. Just picking up the oil pastels and letting the sketch develop as it wants to.

Not perfect, not precise — but a lot more enjoyable.

This was not part of the plan.

I was sketching at Re:fill Creative Coffee PTA when this little dachshund arrived… and obviously I had to take a break. One thing led to another, and he ended up sitting on my sketchbook like he owned the place.

He then tried to eat my earphone, which I think counts as creative feedback.

Pretty sure pets aren’t usually allowed, but an exception was clearly made based on cuteness alone.

Not a bad way to interrupt a sketching session. 😍

Re:fill Creative Coffee pta

Zoomed out view of the piece, with the background starting to come together. 🌸

The left side is building up in dark blues and blacks, fading into softer white spaces. The area in front of the flower still needs to be worked on, but the overall feel is starting to settle.

This looser approach has been exactly what I needed, less pressure on detail, more focus on colour and movement.

A close-up of a new piece - working a bit looser with this one.

After the intensity of more detailed sketches, I needed something that felt less restrictive. This is just the first layer of the flower, focusing on colour and shape rather than getting lost in detail.🌸

The plan is to keep the background soft and slightly blurred, with the flower carrying the focus.

A quieter, more relaxed way of working — and honestly, a needed one.