Lowcountry Marsh Pastel 11x14

'Spring has Come' 11x14 pastel

It was a busy weekend of teaching. I love being able to share my love of pastels and hopefully inspire others to paint. On Saturday I taught a class to a small group of artists new to pastels. I try to fit as much information as I can into four hours. Besides learning about the different pastels and supplies, I did two demos and the class painted three of their own paintings. It was busy but fun. This was one of my demos. I did a nupastel dry underpainting using a piece of pipe foam insulation. We also painted sunflowers using an alcohol wash which I will post next.

Colorado Lupines

'Colorado Lupines' 8x10 pastel

This painting is from a photo I took this summer on a jeep ride up to Yankee Boy Basin in Ouray Colorado. I had been to Yankee Boy Basin years ago but it was too early for the wildflowers. This time we were there at the peak. We had a wonderful but hairy jeep ride with me snapping photos the whole time. I loved the hillsides covered in purple and blue lupines!

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Ipad Sunflowers

I wanted to share my latest discovery....creating art on my new Ipad. I am using the Brushed app and my finger to paint and it is so much fun! This painting is supposed to be landscape format but it won't stay rotated for some reason. There is still a lot to learn! I have a new blog devoted to my ipad paintings and any art related ipad discovery I make. You can visit it here at www.ipadartist.blogspot.com.

November Marsh

'November Marsh' 9x12 pastel

Today's painting is one that I did during the Ann Templeton workshop. I had a variety of reference photos with me and this one called out to be painted. My goal was to see how I could simplify this scene and not overwork the grasses. I did a turpenoid wash underpainting. I love the colors in this. I seem to be in a red and orange phase! I would love to try this really large.

White Mum 4x4 pastel

'White Mum' 4x4 pastel
About today's painting: pastel on moonstone canson paper done from life

I am looking forward to tonight's Back to Basic pastel class. We are continuing our focus on the still life and tonight we are painting white objects without using white pastels. I am excited about tonight's class not only because it is fun to paint white and to discover all of the colors in a white object, but also because I am going high tech with my new Ipad. I have been having so much fun with the ipad. I love fingerpainting with the Brushes app. For class I have prepared a slideshow of paintings that have a lot of white so we can see how other artists handle it. I have also made a bulletin board with the class notes on an app called 'corkulous'. It is so much fun!

Hillside Color Fall Landscape

'Hillside Color' 11x14 pastel ©Karen Margulis

Today's painting is the demo I did for a private workshop I did this past weekend. I had a wonderful time with a great group of artists. We focused on simplifying the Autumn landscape and hopefully they learned a lot. I know they did some great paintings and we had a lot of fun. I hope to be invited back someday!

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Autumn Path 16x20 Pastel

'Autumn Path' 16x20 pastel

It was fun to do a larger painting for a change. I know 16x20 isn't exactly large but for me it is! I enjoyed having more room to make larger strokes. I love painting the Autumn landscape because I get to use those yummy red pastels.

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Morning Marsh 12x12 pastel SOLD

'Morning Marsh' 12x12 pastel

Here is one of the paintings I did at Ann Templeton's workshop last week. She had been doing her demos on a square format and I happened to have a 12x12 piece of paper with me so I decided to do this marsh scene. I had fun playing with the colors in this painting.

Bird Nest Demo Painting SOLD

'Nesting' 11x14 pastel

In my Back to Basics pastel class we have been studying the still life. Since most of us in the class are primarily landscape painters it has been a stretch. Last week I decided we would bring the outside in and do still life paintings using objects found in nature. For the demo I painted from an abandoned nest I have. The focus for the class was to start the painting with big simple shapes and gradually add the details. I love to paint nests for some reason!

Red Tree Pastel Painting 8x10

'The Red Tree' 8x10 pastel

With all of the yellow trees I have been painting I needed some red! I love painting with red pastels and I used a mix of Terry Ludwigs and Great Americans. This painting is done on Uart paper with an alcohol wash underpainting. Tomorrow I am headed for the mountains to do a private workshop for a group of friends. We are going to be working on Autumn landscapes. I know it will be a lot of fun. Have pastels, will travel!

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Autumn Aspens 2009 and 2010

'Autumn Aspens II' (top) 11x14 'Autumn Aspens I' 11x14 Karen Margulis

I decided to revisit a painting I did a year ago and try a new version using some of the things I have learned at the recent workshops I have attended. The top painting is the new version and the bottom painting was done last year. My goal for the new painting was to lighten up and simplify. I painted it from the older painting and not the original reference photo which is another one of my new goals....to rely less on my photos and when I do use them, I will put them away after awhile and let the painting tell me what it needs. I think it will be a good learning experience to take more of last year's work and try the same thing.

Kiawah Sunset #4 pastel

'Kiawah Sunset #4' pastel Karen Margulis

I know it's not the most original title but it is the 4th time I have painted this scene. This one was done at the Ann Templeton workshop this past weekend. The workshop was on abstracting the landscape and we worked from photos. I decided to paint form references that I used before and try to be a bit more abstracted than the previous versions. I think that this one is the most painterly version of this scene. I tried not to spell out all of the details. I need some time now to digest everything I have learned over the last couple of months from Richard McKinley and Ann Templeton. Usually I wouldn't take workshops so close together but it was a great opportunity and I am very glad that I got to do both. Now I need to just get painting!

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South Carolina Palm Trees

'Lowcountry Palms' 8x10 pastel

Here is a plein air painting from last fall. I am still on the road and sharing some of my oldies but favorites. I did this one at the Stan Sperlak workshop on Kiawah Island. It was drizzling rain so Stan had us do some quick sketches at this location then we went back to the house and painted from our sketches and notes. I was amazed at how much of the scene I had remembered.

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Mountain Thistles Plein air

'Mountain Thistles' 5x7 pastel

I just finished a wonderful three day workshop with Ann Templeton in Asheville North Carolina. I will give a full report once I get home and have a chance to take photos of the paintings I did. I learned a lot from Ann's talks and demos and I am anxious to get home and try some ideas I have. Tomorrow Jayne and I are visiting my Asheville gallery, Bella Vista and do some exploring before heading back home.

Chattahoochee River Plein Air

'Morning on the Chattahoochee River' 8x10 pastel

I am sharing a painting I did in August at the Chattahochee River Paint Out. I will participating in another paint out in Kennesaw Georgia at the Smith Gilbert Gardens. I painted there in the Spring so I am anxious to see what the change in season will bring to the gardens.

Colorado Waterfall Pastel

'Agnes Vaille Falls' 8x10 pastel

Today I am posting one of my older favorite paintings. I am out of town for the Ann Templeton workshop and going through some older photos on my laptop. We are enjoying the workshop. Ann is such a treat! We enjoyed a wonderful demo and some great stories. She should write another book of stories! Jayne and I both painted two paintings using her turpenoid underpainting technique. I will try to remember to take pictures tomorrow!

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Landscape Variation #5

'Variation #5' pastel Karen Margulis

Today I am sharing another one of my 100 variation paintings. I have enjoyed having them up on my studio wall. They reminded me of the wonderful possibilities of pastel. It was fun to come up with so many ways to interpret the same scene. I am excited to get started on my next challenge!

Kiawah Island Dunes

'November Dunes' 8x10 pastel ©Karen Margulis

I was inspired by the wonderful painting of my friend Lisa to take out my photos of Kiawah Island. Last Fall we had a wonderful workshop on Kiawah Island with Stan Sperlak. I have painted the marshes several times but have not done any paintings of the beach. This one is painted on dark gray Pastelmat.
Tomorrow Jayne and I are going to Asheville North Carolina for a weekend workshop with Ann Templeton. We have liked Ann's work ever since we watched her DVD years ago. It was too good an opportunity to pass up a road trip to Asheville. I am hoping for some good Fall color photo ops!

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Miniature Apple Paintings

'Picking Apples I, II, III' 2.5 x 3.5 pastel ©Karen Margulis

I enjoy painting these tiny ones. It is a nice change of pace and great fun to see how I can simplify. I am always amazed at how much information you can say with just a few strokes. It is a good exercise and I need to remember to do it more often. These are all done on LaCarte paper.

Morning Mist on Lunchtree Hill Pastel 11x14

'Morning Mist on Lunchtree Hill' 11x14 pastel ©Karen Margulis

Lunchtree Hill is in Grand Teton National Park just outside the wonderful Jackson Lake Lodge. It is covered in all kinds of low growing shrubs and sage. A path leads to the top and overlooks the marshy area below. It is a great place for an early morning walk. You have a bird's eye view of the valley below and all of the wildlife. When we were there we spotted a Moose cow and her baby sharing some alone time. They nuzzled and the baby settled down to sleep while mom stood guard. It was a special moment and we will always remember it!

A Plate of Limes Still Life SOLD

'A Plate of Limes' 8x10 pastel

For a change of pace I have been playing with some still life set ups. I will have to call this a hand made plate since it isn't exactly perfect! There is a lot to be learned by trying something outside of your comfort zone and that is what I hope to be able to share with my Wednesday night class over the next 4 sessions. I have some fun classes planned and we will all learn new things together. This week we will be painting apples so stay tuned for the results.

Cottonwood Trees 11x14 Pastel

'Ranch Trees' 11x14 pastel

Here is my try at painting a larger painting from a plein air study. The study was 8x10 and was done at the Moulton Ranch in Jackson Wyoming. The view from our porch was amazing in every direction. The Tetons of course were spectacular but I also like this little stand of cottonwoods across the field. For this painting I decided to try an oil stain underpainting which I liked. I will be doing more of these!

Dandelions Plein Air Pastel 5x7

'California Dreams' 5x7 pastel ©Karen Margulis

Here is one from the Richard McKinley workshop last month. I had finished a painting of the river and mountains and wanted to do something more intimate. I saw these dandelions in the grass near my easel and they looked so beautiful backlit by the sun. I sat down and did a quick study. I always manage to find 'weeds' to paint as my husband would say!

Dogwood and Spring Forest Paintings SOLD

Today I am sharing my latest commissions. They will be going to a wonderful collector in Tennessee for her new cabin. It was fun to paint a bit of the Southeastern Spring. Each one is 16x20 which is larger than I usually paint. I do enjoy working a bit larger every once in awhile!

What is your Favorite Variation?

Variation #8 5x7 pastel ©Karen Margulis

Here is a closer look at my favorite out of the group of ten variations I posted earlier today. This one is on Uart paper with no underpainting. All 10 are now listed in my Ebay store. Which one do you like best in this group?

Revisiting my 100 Variation Challenge

It has been a year since I started my 100 painting variation challenge. I actually finished my last painting months ago and hung them all on my studio wall. It was probably one of the best things I have done to improve my paintings. I learned many things from the challenge but most importantly it reinforced my attitude that no painting is precious...it is only paper and painting should be fun! Yes it is important to know the basics and to study and practice but it is also important to approach a painting with joy and confidence! So now I am ready to take on a new challenge (details to follow) but I need to make room on my studio wall for the new challenge paintings. I will be offering these 100 paintings for sale through my Ebay store. They will be $50 each with free shipping. I will be listing 10 new paintings each week. If you would like to take a closer look at this weeks offerings, here is the Ebay Link. If you are new to my blog and haven't followed the challenge, I have another blog devoted to the challenge. You can read about many of the paintings and how they were created here at Miles Of Canvas.

Jackson Hole Plein Air Painting

'Purple Mountains Majesty' 5x7 pastel ©Karen Margulis

This is one of my plein air paintings from my summer trip to Wyoming. It is my field study and I have plans to use it to work on a larger studio painting. One of the things I want to try to do is use my field studies to inspire my studio work. I am excited about the possibilities this might lead to. It also has me more excited to do some plein air work!

New Wildflower Painting....'Blue Sailors' 5x7

'Blue Sailors' 5x7 pastel ©Karen Margulis

Today I felt like painting some wildflowers. This image called to me from my stack of photos. These are Chicory plants in bloom. Also known as Blue Sailors. We found a lot of this pretty blue flower growing wild along the roadsides on out trip out to Wyoming. I believe this scene was in Kansas. We were getting onto the highway early in the morning via an access road. The morning light was so beautiful that we had to stop to photograph these flowers. Needless to say, we took an hour to get back on the highway!

Roadside Beauty Commission

'Roadside Beauty' 9x12 pastel

Today I am sharing my finished sunflower commission. Earlier this week I shared the three 5x7 studies I did for the painting. We decided to make it a 9x12 horizontal and instead of trees in the background, we added some distant 'New Mexico' mountains. What a fun project to work on!

Salmon Creek Beach, California

'Windblown' 8x10 pastel

On our recent trip to California we took a drive north of Point Reyes up the coast. We made many stops along the way. It was all so breathtaking! This view was from the parking area of I believe Salmon Creek Beach. I have to double check my photos. I loved the windblown look of the bushes and trees along the coast. And this little area was loaded with Queen Annes Lace which will soon be a subject for another painting!

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Carson River in September

'Riverside Magic' 12x16 pastel

Today's painting is from a photo I took of the Carson River late on afternoon. The sun was low and the yellow bushes just seemed to glow. I can hear the sound of the river rushing over the rocks. What a wonderful spot! I am finally getting caught up from my travels and after a couple of commissions I have plans for a new series based on some of my plein air studies. I can't wait to get started!