Wetlands Inverness California SOLD

'Peaceful Afternoon' 8x10 pastel

This was the view from the back of the Inverness Motel where we stayed earlier this month. It was a wonderful view that changed by the hour....foggy and mysterious to sunny and cheerful and then dramatic light at sunset. I could have stayed and painted here for a week! I'll just have to plan on going back someday.

Sunflower Paintings 7x5 pastel

Sunflower Studies 7x5 pastel

I am working on a commission painting this week and the first thing I usually do is a few small studies to show my client before I work on the larger painting. In this case they wanted a view of the sunflowers you see growing wild along the roadsides of the midwest and west. I happened to see a lot of these happy flowers on the drive out to Wyoming but the last study was based on some sunflowers that were growing in front of our cabins in Hope Valley California! The larger painting will be 11x14 and I will show you the finished painting when I am done. I have been doing a lot with underpaintings lately. Not only because of the Richard McKinley workshop but my basic class has focused on underpaintings as well. For these studies I did an alcohol wash over a layer of harder pastels that were mostly reds and oranges.

Rainy Day in New York City

'Rainy Day in New York City' 8x10 pastel ©Karen Margulis

I am back home from a whirlwind trip to New York City for the Pastel Society of America awards and dinner. It was a fantastic experience despite the rain. It was so exciting to see my painting hanging with so many other wonderful works in the National Arts Club. Winning a prize was icing on the cake. I received the Blick Art materials award which consisted of some nice gift certificates as well as three sets of pastels. It was a challenge getting them home on the plane but a fun challenge! I met a lot of wonderful people and look forward to seeing them again this summer at IAPS. Yesterday my friend Barbara Jaenicke (who also won an award) had a few hours to spare before our flight home so we went walking the streets of NYC on the rain. I was actually enjoying the rain because of the moodiness and colorful lights and umbrellas. I took lots of photos for future reference. I am usually more of a landscape painter but as Richard McKinley says...the city is just the Grand Canyon of man!

California Coastal Marsh 11x14

'The Morning Drive' 11x14 pastel

I finally had a chance to paint today after my trip to California. I have been itching to do some watercolor underpaintings after the Richard McKinley workshop. I'll call this one a double underpainting. I like my initial watercolor underpainting well enough but I did not like that I was putting on too much pastel....so I spritzed it with alcohol and water (thanks Holly for the inspiration!) let it drip and went at it again. I like it much better now.
In the morning I am flying to New York City for the PSA awards. I am meeting up with a friend from the Southeastern Pastel Society who also is accepting an award for her painting so we will have a great time! I plan on taking lots of photos!

Aspen Trees Plein Air 8x10

'Aspens at Carson Pass' 8x10 pastel

It was such a pleasure to have the opportunity to paint my favorite tree en plein air. We don't have aspen trees in Georgia so any time I get to see them I am excited. They are just so beautiful. I would have loved to have seen them in their fall color but we were about a week to early. Actually by the end of the week there were some leaves staring to turn golden. I took photos and I just may use my artistic license to paint them yellow!

Lupines and Aspens 5x7 pastel

'Lupines & Aspen' 5x7 pastel

Here is something a bit different for me. I was playing around with a gouache underpainting and some Diane Townsend dark pastels. I was inspired by a photo I took near the visitor center in Crested Butte Colorado this past July. I have printed out a batch of photos from California and I am hoping to be able to paint tomorrow!

Bristlecone Pine Plein Air

'Ancient One' 8x10 pastel

These old trees up on Carson Pass were awesome. There was a section that had quite a few and I got some great photos. I had to try to paint one. They have so much character! I am still trying to get caught up from my trip so no painting yet. I am chomping at the bit! Hopefully tomorrow!

PSA Exhibition Winners Announced

I wanted to share some news and a link with my readers. The Pastel Society of America has posted the list of winners in the 38th Annual Pastels Only Exhibition on their website. Here is a link if you would like to take a look. My painting 'Early Morning Poppies' is on the first page with some very good company! I am very excited to have the opportunity to go to the awards in NYC this Sunday. I will be posting photos of the show next week!

Sierra Nevada Plein Air Painting

'High Country Trees' 8x10 plein air pastel on board ©Karen Margulis

I am back home from a wonderful workshop experience with Richard McKinley in Hope Valley California. I have so much to share and will write a full review as soon as I get caught up! I have three classes to teach this week and Sunday I go to New York City for the PSA awards and dinner so I am in the weeds! I would love a week just to paint and try out all the new things I have learned but it will have to wait until next week. This is one of my plein air paintings from the workshop. I have done a watercolor underpainting. More to follow!

Heaven! The Sierra Nevada Plein Air

'Morning at the River' 8x10 pastel

I have been totally off the grid for the last week at the Richard McKinley workshop in Hope Valley California. I am down at the California coast for a couple of days before heading home. It was a wonderful experience and I will have to give a full report when I get back. But if anyone is considering a workshop with Richard....Go!!! It was fantastic and you will learn so much. He is an amazing artist and teacher. Our location in the Sierras was spectacular and the group of ladies in the class were fantastic. The Sierra Pastel Society and the coordinators were the best! I will have more details to follow! This is the last painting I did at the workshop. It is a field study on wallis belgian mist with no underpainting.

Cottonwoods 5x7

Cottonwood trees growing near  a stream next to the Moulton Ranch.  These were great trees to paint. I know I will be revisiting them many times!
 

My Website:   www.karenmargulis.com

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California Here I come!

'Wild and Free' 10x8 pastel

I am leaving today for California and will be 'off the grid' for the next week. Our cabin is supposed to have sporadic internet so I will post if I can.....otherwise I'll report back soon! I'll leave you with one of my personal favorite wildflower paintings. This one is available ar Primary Elements Gallery in Cannon Beach Oregon. I love the mood and how vibrant the flowers are in the mist.

Lowcountry Glow 5x7

'Lowcountry Glow' 5x7 pastel on paper ©Karen Margulis

I am getting ready for my trip tomorrow to California and the Richard McKinley workshop. I am excited about the workshop of course but I am just as excited to have the chance to visit a part of the country I haven't experienced. After the workshop my husband and I will head to the coast for a few days. I can't wait to see the Pacific Ocean and all of the cool trees and beautiful coastal scenes I have seen in photos and paintings! My memory cards are cleared and ready to be filled!

This painting is available this weekend by ebay auction here

Ending Tonight! Auction Paintings

I have some 5x7 studies available by ebay auction this week. They were my 'playful' studies but they really are helpful in getting ideas for bigger paintings and they were fun to paint! If you'd like a closer look click on the link to the auctions in my ebay store here.

Prairie Gold....Kansas Wheat Fields

'Prairie Gold' 11x14 pastel

I love wide open spaces and so driving across the prairies was wonderful. The light on the golden wheat fields was amazing. We were fortunate to stay overnight at a motel on the edge of a wheat field that was in the process of being cut. We watched the huge combines harvest the wheat well into the night.

Sunset Surprise...Grand Teton Rainbow

'Sunset Surprise' 11x14 pastel on paper ©Karen Margulis

I believe that there isn't a photo or a painting that could capture the magic of this sunset. We had just entered Grand Teton National Park after a long day on the road. It had been raining on and off and there had been some serious storms in the area, one that sadly led to the death of a climber earlier in the day. But as we drove into the park the clouds started to break and the sun began to illuminate the low clouds.....soon there was a rainbow. We got to a pullout and jumped out of the car. It changed every second getting more and more spectacular. Never had I seen such a dramatic and beautiful sunset. The rainbow intensified and then another rainbow appeared....someone said they saw a third rainbow! And it got even better....the rainbows were complete. I couldn't get it all in my camera! But it is in my head and in my heart. I will never forget that sunset!

Fun with Aspen Trees

'Aspen Fun' 5x7 pastel ©Karen Margulis

Another playful painting this time of some Aspen trees. I love aspens and plan on painting a larger aspen scene. I think they just need to be big sometimes! I am looking forward to my California trip because I read that our cabin is surrounded by a beautiful aspen grove....I can't get enough of them!

This painting available on ebay auction here

Lowcountry Marsh 8x10

'Summer's End' 8x10 pastel ©Karen Margulis

Today's painting is a marsh scene from Kiawah Island South Carolina. I love to paint the marshes and haven't done a marsh scene all summer! I feel the pull to paint some skies next so I have several ideas just waiting. Hopefully tomorrow I will have some good painting time before I have to do my final packing for the Richard McKinley workshop.

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Price: $125 USD
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Nantucket Landscape Painting

'Nantucket Memories' 5x7 pastel on paper unframed © Karen Margulis

I missed my summer visit to Nantucket this year. I have a cousin who lives on the island and we have visited them the last two summers but with my big trip out west, I just couldn't do it all. I am hopeful for a visit next summer. It is such a beautiful place and I truly feel like I have come home when I visit. My grandfather was born and raised there and I have traced our family back to the founding families of Nantucket so it is a special place for me.

This painting will be available by auction this week on Ebay. I have five of what I call my 'playful paintings' on auction at a great starting bid of $25. Check them out!

click here to bid on this painting

Flowers from my Imagination

'Dreamscape' 8x10 pastel

This painting was done from my imagination....well I don't know if that is entirely true. I didn't look at a reference photo but it was based on a larger painting I had recently done for my Back to Basics class. If you would like to see the evolution of the painting you can visit my Class Blog. I originally painted these flowers yellow but decided I wanted them to be daisies. I used a liberal spray of fixative which allowed me to add the lights and also gave me some nice texture.

Playful Poppies 7x5 pastel

'Playful Poppies' 7x5 pastel

This week was a week of play. In both of my classes we approached our paintings with a playful, experimental attitude. We tried to paint using different approaches than we usually do and the results were great! Not only did we have some fun but the paintings really reflected the playful spirit. I decided to try my usual poppies with a more colorful and loose approach. I seem to be drawn to lines and so I gave myself permission to use lines in this painting. It really was a lot of fun!

I am trying something new and putting these 'playful' paintings in my ebay store. They will be on auction this week for a great starting bid of $25 with free shipping.

click here to bid on this painting

Blue Ridge Mountain Pastel 11x14

'Morning Softness' 11x14 pastel

This morning I had the opportunity to teach a private lesson to a wonderful portrait artist who wishes to paint landscapes. What a pleasure to meet her and share some thoughts on painting the landscape. She lives on a 42 acre farm in the mountains with a stream, chickens, horses, a donkey and wonderful views. She wants to be able to paint the beauty she sees everyday. I painted this scene to demonstrate some of the things we talked about...values in the landscape, aerial perspective, dealing with green. It was a fun morning and I look forward to working with her again and perhaps being able to paint on her farm someday!

Pink Poppy Paintings

'Pretty in Pink' 8x10 pastel

As promised, I have painted some pink poppies. These were in the garden in Crested Butte along with all of the other varieties. What a feast for the eyes! The pink ones were such a delicate shade of pink. While I had my pink pastels out I painted three little 2.5 x 3.5 minis of the pink poppies.
Today registration opened for next summer's IAPS convention in Albuquerque New Mexico. It is a biennial convention and I attended last year. I decided to go again and registered for a few classes. I decided not to over schedule myself like I did last time but I am excited about my choices! Who else is planning on attending?

Buy this painting on PayPal
Price: $100 USD
Or, send me an email