Mountain Wildflowers Pastel Painting

'Mountain Bouquet' 7x5 pastel

I am back to the wildflowers and I realize that I am in need of some new reference photos. I went through my collection and found several inspiring photos but I look forward to the summer when I can take some new pictures. This painting is 7x5 on UArt paper with a watercolor underpainting.

95 Down and 5 more to Paint!

I have been a busy bee today and managed to paint 16 more challenge paintings! That only leaves 5 more to paint and I know exactly how I will paint them....but it will have to wait until tomorrow. I figured out a great way to display them all and I can't wait to share a photo of all 100. Well actually I have sold four of them but it is still a big display! I had a lot of fun just playing with color today. I was going more for emotion than realistic colors and it was wonderful. These are my three favorites from today's work. They are all 5x7 on various surfaces. I have my workshop on jump-starting your own personal challenge coming up on April 18th. It will be a lot of fun so let me know if you want to join us.

Spring Marsh Pastel Painting 8x10 sold

'Turning Green' 8x10 pastel

I seem to be in a green phase lately. I keep reaching for green pastels! Maybe because Spring is in the air and I am ready for things to start turning green. This marsh painting was from a photos taken in Autumn and the marsh was shades of brown. I like it green!

Acrylic Poppy Paintings Wall Hangings

I have been playing with acrylics on tar paper this week. The top wall hanging is 4x4 inches and the bottom poppies measure 8x8 inches. To make the poppies, I tore the shape from the tar paper and painted them with acrylics. They are then glued to the background piece of tar paper. I used a twig and copper wire for the hanger. These were so much fun to do and I have more ideas I am working on. Now that I no longer have daycare in my home, my studio has been greatly expanded. I am able to have a table set up for projects like this one and still have room for all of my pastel supplies. It is wonderful!

Snowy Egret Pastel Painting 8x8

'Snowy Egrets' 8x8 pastel

I came across these Snowy Egrets at the Assateague Island National Seahore. I think that had to be one of the best bird-watching experiences ever. It was quite chilly and windy but the birds were everywhere! Often when we go looking for 'white' birds we are frustrated. We see more white plastic bags than egrets! We call them 'bag birds'. But on this trip, we hit the jackpot!

Miniature Pastel Paintings

I have a few miniature pastels (aceos) available through ebay auction. The auctions are ending this week and I'd love for you to take a look. It is a good opportunity to add to your collection.
Here is the link to my ebay store.

Back to my Variation Challenge...The Home Stretch

I am on the home stretch of my personal challenge to paint the same landscape 100 times. The project has been on hold as I have transitioned from my childcare business to fulltime art. I am now up to 81 paintings and hope to finish by next week. These six were all painted on recycled Uart paper. I am feeling very colorful this week! I have another batch up on the easel waiting to be painted. If you aren't familiar with my challenge, you can read about it on my challenge blog www.milesofcanvas.blogspot.com

Siamese Cat Pastel Painting by Karen Margulis

'A Sunny Window' 5x7 pastel

Today I am sharing a painting I finished last week. This is my cat Tobi when he was younger. He is much bigger and darker now but he still has to find the warmest spot in the house for his naps! I worked today on my 100 painting challenge. You may remember I started this challenge last Fall and got to 75 paintings. I really want to finish and some ideas for the last few. I will have a workshop on April 18th on jump-starting your own personal painting challenge. I will have stations set up with some fun and interesting techniques for doing some 5x7 paintings. More information to come!

Spring Storms Landscape Painting 18x24

'In Like a Lion' 18x24 pastel

I had the urge to paint something big and simple today. Maybe it's because I have been working on acrylic painting wallhangings but I needed to have the freedom of a large piece of paper. If I had something larger than 18x24 I would have used it! I don't have it out of my system yet so I may try another one. What do I do with all of these big paintings! A bit of background on this scene....it was inspired by one of my 'highway' photos while driving in Northern Florida one Spring. I was taken by the dark fierce storm and the bright green and yellow fields. It needed to be big!.

Two New Demo Paintings...Marsh & Water

Here are my two paint-along demo paintings from our water workshop. We really needed more time for everyone to finish two paintings so I ended up finishing the rocks at the end of class....hopefully everyone will finish theirs for homework! If you were at the class you will notice that I really made some changes to the top painting. The photo was very dull and I had two bright green bushes in the front. Today when I looked at the painting, it told me it wanted to be more exciting. (yes it really did tell me that!) So, out went the bushes and then I sprayed it with fixative and built up several layers of marsh grasses. That was fun! The top painting is 8x10 and the bottom is 5x5.

I have been painting acrylics all day and can't wait to share what I am up to!!

Acrylic Painting on Tar Paper ...Bird Nest

'Joy' Acrylic on Tar Paper 4x4 inches

Here's something new I have been working on....little bird nest acrylic paintings on tar paper. I made them into wall hangings with some twigs and copper wire. I had so much fun with them and hope to do more this week.

Please visit my Etsy store to see this and more nature inspired art!

Crashing Surf Wave Painting

'Sunset Surf' 8x10 pastel

One evening in Cape May we spent at least an hour in the cold wind photographing the surf because it was so spectacular. The sun was going down and the waves seemed to be illuminated. The wind was blowing the foam right off the tops of the waves. It was worth braving the elements for the photos. This painting is done from one of my photos on Uart paper with a watercolor underpainting.

Buoy Painting

'Buoy Reflections' 5x7 pastel

Continuing my water series, here is today's painting of a Maine buoy. I love the colors of some of these buoys! It would be fun to paint a whole series of these. on another note......I just booked my plane ticket to California for this Fall's Richard McKinley workshop in Hope Valley. I got a great deal and we get a layover in Chicago so we can visit my son. My husband is coming and he will do some fly fishing while I attend the workshop. We will also visit Yosemite. So my tickets are purchased, rooms are booked now I just have to figure out how to pack all of my supplies!

Painting Some Bird Nests

'The Empty Nesters' 11x14 pastel

I have more water paintings to share but I thought I would post my latest nest painting for a change of pace. For my Back to Basics class last night we did a paint-along and I had a request for a still life ... so I chose these nests. Our topic was value so of course we did our value studies first then we did a value underpainting with a dark blue Nupastel and alcohol. Oh and we were working from a black and white photograph. The idea was to concentrate on getting the values correct. We had some pretty colorful nest paintings! It was a fun class.

My new Etsy store is now up and running and I am adding new things daily. I'd love for you to take a look. I am featuring art related to nature such as my bird and wildflower paintings. It's called Songbird Sudios and you can visit it here.

Toccoa River Up Close and Personal

For today's painting I decided to paint a close up view of the Toccoa river, focusing on some rocks and a bit of rushing water. I chose to paint a long and narrow format (6x18) I did a watercolor underpainting on White Wallis paper. This painting had lots of elements to think about...shallow stream bed, wet and submerged rocks, rushing whitewater...so it was a great learning experience.

Amicalola Falls North Georgia Waterfall Painting

'Autumn Glory' 8x10 Pastel

Here is my second 'water' painting of the week. This time I chose the moving water of a waterfall. This is from a photo my husband took while visiting the falls with his sister last Autumn. I just finished a close-up of rocks in a stream and tomorrow I will paint some waves.I also have some boat reflections and some rippled water with reflections to do! This is fun! Now I just have to choose which type of water we will paint for the paint-along in my next class.

Lowcountry Autumn 8x10 Pastel SOLD

'Lowcountry Autumn' 8x10 pastel

This week I am working on some 'water' paintings. I want to try to paint different types of water in the landscape. This is my version of 'still water with reflections'. This is the view from the State Park cabin on Edisto Island. My Friends and I spent a few nights in the cabin last November. I love the colors in the marsh grass that time of year! I have also painted a waterfall which I will be posting next.

I have opened up a shop on etsy.com that will specialize in Nature themed art. It is called 'Songbird Studios'. Right now I have some birds ,nests and wildflower original paintings listed, many of them not available through my other online galleries. I have plans to add greeting cards and much more. I'd love for you to visit my shop 'Songbird Studios'

Buy this painting on PayPal
Price: $145 USD
Or, send me an email

Chicago Theater Pastel Painting 7x5

'Chicago Night Life' 7x5 pastel

Today's painting is a quick study of the Chicago Theater. My son Corey's dorm room at SAIC was just across the street and this was his view! Now that would be fun for a change of pace!

This Week's Miniature Pastel Paintings

Here is this week's aceo paintings. Each one measures 2.5 x 3.5 and was painted while I was on my cruise! I have been offering them each week on auction in my Ebay store and it has been fun meeting some new collectors. I have been busy working on my online classes as well as some other projects which I will be sharing with you soon!

click here to bid on these paintings

Landscapes of the Southeast... Murphy North Carolina

'Summer Softness' 8x10 pastel

I thought it would be fun to paint some Southeastern Landscapes and name the location. I don't always mention exactly where a scene was painted because many landscapes evoke more of a feeling or memory of a place rather than a very specific location. But it might be fun to tell you where some of these scenes are. This painting is from a photo I took just outside of Murphy North Carolina. My husband and I were on our way to drive the 'Tail of the Dragon' in his Miata when I snapped the photo. I love how the medians and side of the roads are planted with wildflowers!

Siamese Cat Taking a Bath

'Siamese Taking a Bath' 8x10 pastel

For this painting of my cat Tobi, I wanted to create more of a vignette. I didn't put much detail beyond his face and front paw. I love the turquoises in the background. It has to be my favorite color to use!

Buy this painting on PayPal
Price: $145 USD
Or, send me an email

Mayas like her painting!

I had my recent Siamese cat paintings on my display table for my Master Class and Maya decided to join us and pose in front of her portrait. I was able to quickly grab my camera and snap a picture of her. I did two cat demo paintings for class and I will post them next.

Maine Lupines Miniature Landscape Pastel

Here is another mini pastel I painted while on vacation. It is fun rediscovering them as I take them out for photographs. This is a scene from the Maine coast. We were lucky to visit one summer while the Lupines were in full bloom. I can't resist the colors in these flowers! This aceo painting will be on auction this week in my Ebay store.

click here to bid on this painting

Among the Wildflowers

'Among the Wildflowers' 18x24 pastel

Today's painting is another new Large painting for me. I don't know what has gotten into me lately but I am wanting to paint BIG! You should see my studio....they are all lined up along the wall. The only problem with paintng larger besides using more pastels...is storing the bigger paintings! But I am really enjoying the freedom of working bigger and may do a few more before my run is over! This painting is done on white Wallis with a waterolor underpainting. I took the reference photo up in Blue Ridge Georgia at a stop light. The Queen Anne's Lace was just amazing last summer! It was everywhere!

New Siamese Cat Series

'Sunbathing' 16x20 pastel

It has been awhile since I've painted my Siamese cats but I couldn't resist this one of Maya. She was in a perfect sunspot grooming herself. She loves to make herself comfortable on all things soft such as this throw and velvet pillow. This is painted on LaCarte paper which is my favorite surface for painting animals. I did another smaller 5x7 painting of Tobi in a sunny window which I will be posting next. I also just finished another 18x24 paintingof a field of Queen Anne's Lace. I think I put in a full day today!

Dragonfly aceo Painting 2.5x3.5 inches SOLD

I have several aceo paintings on auction in my ebay store including this dragonfly. Here is the link to my auction. I love topaint dragonflies! This one has irridescent pastel on his wings.

Sunflower Painting Pastel with Alcohol Wash

'Happiness' 8x10 pastel

For today's painting I did an underpainting with Nupastels and an alcohol wash. I tried not to cover up all of my underpainting but as usual I did! I like how the underpainting helped me get the yellow of the petals bright and vibrant. I also had fun at the end with some line work with harder pastels. This one was fun to paint!

Promise of Spring Pastel Landscape

'Promise of Spring' 8x10 pastel

Today's painting is the demo I did for my Introduction to Pastel Workshop. I had five students spend the day in my studio learning the basics of pastels. We had a fun time and everyone came away with some nice paintings. I hope that they will be hooked on this wonderful medium! For this demo I was showing how to start a simple landscape by layering softer pastels over hard. We also did another painting with an alcohol wash which I will share tomorrow. Now I am tired! It has been a full week of teaching and painting but it is so much fun!

Queen Anne's Lace Painting

'Nothing but Blue Skies' 18x24 pastel

I am enjoying the freedom of painting large! I just finished one of my largest Queen Anne's Lace painting and had so much fun with it. I usually seem to paint them under a misty of cloudy sky so the blue sky was a nice change and makes a happy painting. Looking at it on the monitor I see one thing I want to change and I will post an updated photo as soon as I can.

Wildflowers by the Sea SOLD

'Spirit Dancers' 12 x 24 pastel

I wish that this small picture did a better job showing this painting. It is another large wildflower painting at 12 x 24. This is from a photo I took last summer on Nantucket Island. I wanted to capture a gray sky perhaps just before or after a storm. I call it 'Spirit Dancers ' for two reasons....first the way the flowers seem to dance and sway in the wind and second because as there are ghosts hidden in the sky. Now see if you can find them!

Summer Meadow in Maine

'Summer Meadow' 8x10 pastel

I am always on the lookout for a field filled with wildflowers and this one I came across one summer in Maine was the jackpot! There were flowers everywhere and the misty gray day only made them more beautiful.

I just found out the I made it into the Duane Wakeham workshop in May. It will be held in conjuction with the Southeastern Pastel Society's International Exhibition. The workshop participants were chosen by lottery and I usually don't have luck with things like that but I made it in! I will be excited to learn from Duane Wakeham. I attended one of his sessions at IAPS and took pages of notes...and that was just for a 3 hour session. This will be three days!

Siamese Cat Painting miniature SOLD

This little pastel painting measures 2.5 x 3.5 inches and is on LaCarte pastel card. I love this surface for my animal paintings. I have taken some new photos of my siamese cats and I'm anxious to paint them. I just love choosing the colors for their fur. I want to thank you all for the great suggestions for the title of my Poppy painting. Some of my favorites were 'Redheads'. 'Morning Glow' and 'Jewels of the Field'. Now I'll have a tough time deciding!

click here to bid on this painting

Poppy Painting...Need Title!

11x14 pastel

I am stumped for a title for this painting! It is a larger interpretation of one of my other poppy paintings and I can't come up with a good title. The story behind the scene...it was summer in the smoky mountains. I was out for a morning walk with a Jayne, my sister and my nephew Colin. To our horror, my sister and nephew were picking the wildflowers as fast as Jayne and I could snap pictures of them. It was a misty gray morning wich made the flowers even more bright and beautiful...especially the wild poppies. I'd appreciate any ideas for a good title! The painting is done directly with soft pastels on Wallis. I used my favorite Richard Mckinley set of Great Americans with a few accents of a Terry Ludwig dark.