Awaiting supper time by Selina Ormond

love this one too, as if the mice are actually moving. amazing that you have captured that!

Thank you Andrea. This my very first attempt at anything like this and to receive comments like yours so quickly is very cheering and encouraging. I am always drawing my pet ratties.

Lively and lovely! I have always wanted to paint in oil pastels but havent had much success.

Thank you Squirrell. I have not generally been very successful with oil pastels either but this one I felt quite pleased with. It was done very quickly!

I love your use of colour in this one, Selina. It brings a tangibility and sense of fun to the little creatures. Have you really got pet rats?

Yes, Euphrosene, I confess I have! I have kept them for many years now and they make very good clean and intelligent pets. They also make good models if you can sketch in fast enough! Thank you for your comments.

I know I'm late coming to this one, I've just found it, but wanted to say that I recognized your furry critters as rats straight away, because I used to keep them: they're intelligent, friendly (usually), clean, and almost perfect as pets - the "almost" only because they don't live long enough. Stopped keeping them because I just couldn't handle all the rodent funerals.... Oil pastel is a complete swine to work with, in my opinion, but actually quite fun - ever tried working into it with turps (or other solvent)? Worth persevering with, I think.

Robert, of course you are quite right - they are my ratties. I have been keeping them for years and like you I dispair at the frequency of ratty funerals! But the 2 years before that makes up for it I find. I find oil pastels are all right if the subject is bold and colourful. I have tried 'painting' with them, as you suggest, with turps or white spirit, but it does dilute the vibrancy of the colour I found. I like the way you can blend with them so easily.