Oil Pastel Challenge

1. How are pastels and oil pastels like painting?  Be specific with your answer.

Like paint, it's easy to blend is and it's also harder to control, harder to get crisp edges and details. Like paint, there are some things that are easier to do with pastel though-like the pillars and (especially) the lighting effects from the window. Unlike most mediums, its a lot easier to scratch out areas or details(like on the floor and the stones) to add details and texture. 

Like paint, I think its both a fun media to work with but frustrating in the sense details are harder to create with it.

2.  Critique your work:  what was successful about your piece? what would you change?

Also give yourself a grade.

I really like the textures and effects accomplished with oil pastel. I like the pillars and stones and the lighting from the window best. I would have loved to get more details or shading but, unlike pencil or some other mediums, it's more of a challenge to get crisp edges or details. I like how it turned out quite a bit but I would like to try using a more "painterly" style with oil pastels sometime or a portrait though. As for a grade, I think it deserves an A.