The monthly challenge for wetcanvas oil pastel forum included a nocturnal scene. For this painting I let the oil pastels take me on their own journey from the sky structure, to the colors, and the barren landscape and what evolved became more interesting with each step of the process.
Mystery, an oil pastel (6×8), was painted on Mi-Teintes black pastel paper using mainly Senneliers and Holbeins OPs. This black tinted paper is kind of bland, so I layered/smeared on Senneliers black oil pastel as the first layer and then each subsequent color was blended into the deep, rich black OPs. I really enjoyed the process of painting this piece because of the range of tones that developed as the oil pastels were layered, the resulting colors were amazing.
Hope you enjoy Mystery and as always, thanks for stopping by ~
Oil Pastels by Mary 
I love how this glows… it seems it is a nice additions to your color schemes?!!
Thanks Karah, so nice to receive your feedback!
Wow, Mary, this is rich. Love your darks!
Thank you very much Leslie – appreciate hearing from you ! The black pastel paper helps to achieve the dark undertone, but because it’s a bit flat a very thin layer of Senneliers Mars Black (which is very rich) was spread over the surface and as subsequent OPs layers were applied they were mixed into the black giving a nice rich undertone. Thanks for mentioning.
I love this, and it love the title!
Thank you so much Dixie! Nice to meet you, thank you for visiting my blog.
This is fantastic. It is so simple, but has a profound sense of making me feel like I’m out in the night.
Thanks very much Tim, I’ll bet you see tones like this at night in the logging areas when the moon reflects off the bark and things.
Actually, it made me think of having to walk Blitz at night when she was in heat and had to be chaperoned. It was always a nice time to enjoy the moonlight in the night. It really reminds me of that time.
Absolutely stunning Mary. One of your best pieces!!!! This inspires me to try a full moon scene with more colors than I’ve been using in my work. Just love it!!
Thank you Rhonda really appreciate your generous comment. The reference colors were more steel gray but I kept seeing warm ranges so I took the chance. Thanks very much.
This is lovely!
Thank you so much Lady!
Nocturnal intrigue for sure!
Thanks Elena!
You captured mystery well. Interesting how it fits a variety of thoughts in my head.
Thanks Frank!
Lots of mystery in this scene. 🙂
Thank you so much!
This painting feels majestic! The ratio of landscape to sky is perfect! I can feel the mystery behind those richly colored clouds and that is the presence of the entire Universe. The sneak peak into that Universe is starting with the half covered Moon! What a wonderful painting Mary! Thank you for sharing!-Eva:)
Hi Eva, wonderful comments – thank you. I like how you see the details and relate them to the whole. It really was all about the sky and the drama that nighttime cloud structures and lights give a scene, in this case the starkness of the land became almost an afterthought once the sky came alive with Sennelier creamy Oil Pastels.
Lovely Mystery. Very much enjoyed reading how you created Mystery too.
Thank you so much Beth, appreciate your comment. I’m glad you liked the process, I’m trying to take the mystery out of oil pastels.
Stunning in its perfection!
Thank you so much for your beautiful comment!
Fabulous, Mary. I love the depth of color in this. It has such a wonderful mysterious feeling to it. Thanks for sharing the process you went through for beginners like me. I love pastels and being able to build up color with them.
Hi Kerry, thank you I’m glad you enjoyed learning about the process – this was a quick, but fun exercise in building the sky. The black allows the OPs colors to come alive.
I love your Mystery, Mary! 🙂
Thank you Calee for your kind feedback! Don’t we all love a good mystery?
Imaginative and inspired! Really lovely, Mary…
Thank you Cynthia for your gracious comments ~
I love it, Mary – very… mysterious indeed! 🙂
Hi Stefano, thank you so much for your enthusiastic comment!!
That’s a brilliant night scene, Mary! 🙂 xx
Thank you so much Marina! Hope you are enjoying your day ~