Dare I admit that I sometimes get bored with watercolors?! I hope that statement didn't scandalize you...but it's true. I compare a steady diet of watercolor to a steady diet of the same sandwich, made with the same ingredients everyday for lunch. After a while, my enjoyment starts to disappear and then it becomes something I do by rote without fully engaging in the activity (or eating) and that usually leads to a disaster as you should never ever attempt to paint with watercolors (or eat) unless you're fully engaged!

The beginning layout in white chalk

I love the look of chalk work and have done a little bit for myself. I recently stumbled across a couple of artists that do colored chalk work and it started me to thinking about my old pastel pencils and sticks laying in a dark drawer, forgotten. Queue the sad music...

So I went digging and finally unearthed the pencils and three sets of sticks...umm, I'm thinking there was some hanky-panky going on in the dark drawer because I'm pretty sure there were some pencils and ONE set the last time I looked! Maybe we should have queued the party music instead!

Adding color to the berries and putting down the first layer of white for the lettering

Next was the hunt for a dark/black journal and to my disappointment, I selected a journal from the Dyan Reaveley Dylusions line. I cannot recommend this journal as the binding was so tight on the book it couldn't be opened very far. When I added a little pressure, the binding (thread) popped and the front page tore away from the back where it was glued. Mind you, I didn't use a lot of pressure, it was just that tight.

Anyway, it's 8 x 8 inches which is a perfect size as you can work around all four edges and meet the middle while keeping your hand off the page. If you've ever worked with pastel or charcoal, you know what I'm sayin'. You start putting your hands on the page and you're gonna have a smeary mess in no time!

Adding the "greens" of the leaves...which also include blues, aqua, and violet

Once upon a time, I thought I was going to be a pastelist...until I fell into the wicked, web of watercolor and never quite escaped. I wanted to start out with something fairly simple until I familiarized myself with pastels once again as it has been a really, Really, REALLY long time since I used them.

I also wanted to incorporate the look of the white chalk. I think this piece could probably use more white, and I haven't yet decided if I'll try to add it in or if I'll just turn the page and do another piece. I'm leaning towards a new piece.

The piece as it currently stands...I'm thinking it's not finished.

This is as far as I've gone on the page and I'm thinking it needs a little something something...some more holly leaves, a few pieces of pine, a flourish, a _________________. Something. What do you think? Any suggestions?

While this is fun, and I have no doubt I'll do more, I will always go back to my ever faithful watercolors. I am curious to see what this latest exploration will influence my work with watercolors as my work with watercolors has influenced my approach to pastels.

What have you tried that's either new or new to you because you haven't picked it up in decades?! Please share!