Siamese Cat Pastel over Monotype SOLD

'Maya Blue' 5x7 pastel

Maya is one of my Siamese cats. She is named after the the beautiful blue pigment made by the Maya and Aztecs. She has the most gorgeous blue eyes. This painting of Maya is a monotype on Somerset paper and black ink. I added pastel on top of the print. I am enjoying painting with pastels on this soft paper. It doesn't have any tooth but the soft texture has been interesting to work on.

California Landscape Sierra Nevada

'September Afternoon' 8x10 pastel

Today's painting is a pastel done from a photo I took on my trip to California last September. It is still on my list to do some larger paintings from the plein air work I did on the trip but other projects keep getting in the way! It is hard to stay focused when so many things look like fun. I had two student this weekend introduce me to two different art projects that I could so easily be tempted to try but I will have to put them on the back burner for now.

House Finch Nest...Monotype Demo

Here are a couple of the demo prints I did for today's Monotype workshop. The top image was the first print to which I added pastel. The bottom image was the second print or 'ghost'. It was much softer than the first one and I chose to leave it in black and white. It was a fun day and everyone did some really nice work. We all learned and experimented with both black ink and color paint. We all enjoyed that moment of truth when the print was pulled! It is addicting! I did several more prints with the leftover ink after everyone left! I am looking forward to another group tomorrow to come play with printmaking and pastels! Thanks to my group today! It was a pleasure to meet new faces and welcome back my regulars!

Some Fun with 6x6 Pastels

Today we painted over in the front window of the Art Forum at DuPre's Antique market. It was a lot of fun having the chance to paint with the other artists. We also were visited by a reporter from the local paper so we will be getting some nice publicity for the Art Forum. I decided to paint some 6x6 pastels. I chose some of my personal favorite subjects and did the underpaintings ahead of time. I was able to just use my small travel set of pastels and my Easy-L easel. It worked out really well and I will plan to go paint in the window more often! next Friday March 4th is the first Art Walk of the season so I will definitely be at the Art Forum.

Fralinger's Salt Water Taffy..A Taste of the NJ Shore

'Summer Sweets' 5x7 pastel

My good friends and I are looking into planning a summer trip somewhere along the Atlantic Coast so this taffy painting got me in the summer mood. Last July we drove all the way from Georgia to Wyoming and had an amazing trip. We haven't quite decided on this summer's adventure but I have lots of great ideas. Our requirements...some wide open spaces preferably a beach or marsh, birds and other wildlife (bag birds excluded) I'll report back when we figure out where we are going!

Atlantic Dunes 8x10 pastel

'Atlantic Dunes' 8x10 pastel

During the next few classes in my Back to Basics Pastel Class we will be exploring the different ways we can apply pastels. We all have our own unique way of making marks and many times we don't give much thought about the marks we make. By exploring the different ways other pastelists make their marks we can learn new ways of using our pastels and hopefully become more aware of our own marks and how we can use them to make our paintings better. This week we will be exploring the use of linear marks. This painting is made up entirely of linear marks...some thin and some thick but I built up the layers only with lines. It felt strange for me but it was a lot of fun!

Lavender and Wildflowers 5x7 pastel

'Purple Haze' 5x7 pastel

Today's painting was done on Diane Townsend Pastel paper. I had bought some awhile ago and finally got a chance to try it. I really liked it. It's no wonder because I have been enjoying painting pastels over my monotypes on the Rives BFK paper. It also took a beautiful watercolor underpainting. Here is a description of the paper from the Dakota website:

The exquisite velvety surface of this coated sheet is produced on Rives BFK 100% cotton paper. A mixture of two grades of silica, methylcellulose, liquid adhesive, chalk, whiting and water is hand brushed on the paper. Several passes are made to achieve an incredibly smooth, even surface. The resulting surface is like very fine sandpaper. The coating is clear, with coloration coming from the BFK papers. The Townsend paper is completely archival and will handle light water base washes and also solvent base washes.

Pink Poppies 9x9 acrylic

'Pink Poppies' 9x9 acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

I have been working on some acrylic paintings the past few days. It feels strange to use a brush and mix colors but with each painting it is getting more familiar. I just need to make time for practice. This one is on gallery wrapped canvas. I do like the idea that I don't need to fuss with frames and glass but pastels truly do make it worth the fuss. To me there is nothing more beautiful than pastel!

My Painting is a Finalist in the IAPS Poster Competition

I am excited to share that my painting 'Blue Skies Ahead' has been selected as one of the five finalists for the IAPS Poster Competition. The winner will be revealed at the IAPS convention in Albuquerque in June. I just happened to visit the IAPS website today and see they have posted the five finalists' images. Wow! I am in great company. I am just thrilled to be in the finals! Here is the link to the 5 finalists' images.

Field of Red Flowers

'Carpet of Red' 11x14 pastel

I have been busy in the studio today with a few different projects on the burner. I am working on some acrylic sunflower paintings on one easel. The table is full of monotype supplies and monotypes in various stages. There is a pastel landscape on my big easel and I have two big commissions with finished underpaintings waiting for an empty easel ...oh and then there is my container of beads for some cool wire wrapped wine glasses I am trying. Whew! I am having so much fun!

Spring is on the Way! Redbud Tree Pastel

'Spring Memories' 8x10 pastel

It has felt like Spring this week here in Georgia but I know it must be just a tease. It was enough though to make me think of Spring and to do a painting from last year's photos. I love driving up to the mountains in early Spring and seeing the redbuds peeking out from the pines along the road. We will be headed to the mountains in April to participate in the Blue Ridge Plein air Paint out. It will be my third year in the paint put and it is always so much fun!

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Price: $145 USD
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Spring Marsh 12x12 pastel

'Spring Marsh' 12x12 pastel

Tonight is the Grand Opening Celebration of the Art Forum at DuPre's Antiques in the Marietta Square. My space is ready and filled with paintings. I am excited to be a part of the Art Forum. The Marietta Square is quickly becoming known as an Art Destination and if filled with great shops, restaurants, theaters, galleries and no the Art Forum! The opening is tonight February 18 from 5-9 pm. Come on out and see what we've been up to and meet the artists!

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Price: $165 USD
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Monotype Nest with pastel

'Three Jewels' 5x7 monotype with pastel

This medium has so many exciting possibilities and I am loving it! This monotype was done with white ink printed on Somerset Black Velvet paper. I used the subtractive method to draw the nest on my plate before printing. The white nest on the black paper looked interesting but I decided to go ahead and add some pastel. You can see the texture of the paper and some of the ink lines from the print underneath the pastel. I am not sure what my favorite process is yet. I have been experimenting with different inks and paints and papers but need to keep going! If you would like to try some monotypes with or without pastel I will be having a mini workshop February 26 or 27 at my Marietta Georgia studio. Come play with us if you are in the area!

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Price: $75 USD
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Maine Meadow Acadia National Park pastel

'Maine Meadow' 11x14 pastel

I love Maine and would go back in a heartbeat. This painting is from a photo I took a couple of years ago. We were driving around Acadia National Park when I spotted this wonderful meadow just full of wildflowers. It was a spot of sunshine on a dreary cool summer day.

Meadow Study 5x7

'Meadow Study' 7x5 pastel

Sometime when flipping through my photos one jumps out at me and I just need to paint from it. This scene was actually next to a truck stop somewhere in Indiana. It was the most wonderful filed of Queen Anne's Lace I had ever seen. I could have stayed there all day but we were headed to Chicago to bring my son to school. I would love to find that meadow again!

Blue Ridge Mountains 11x14 pastel

'Mountain Haze' 11x14 pastel

Today's painting is based on a photo I took a few years ago at a plein air workshop with Marsha Savage. It was my very first workshop and I fell in love with painting outdoors with pastels. I don't do it often enough. I have some plein air outing planned for the Spring and I have an last minute opportunity to go to the beach this weekend so I will be bringing my pastels and painting on the beach! It is supposed to be 75 and sunny! This painting is on Wallis Belgian Mist paper.

Happy Valentine's Day ...Chocolate Covered Strawberries

'Temptation' 8x8 pastel

After I painted these chocolate covered strawberries from an old photo I had I got a craving for the real thing. I am going to treat myself to a batch of them for Valentine's Day. Yum! I actually painted these as a demo for my Back to Basic's class. I wanted to show them how to paint chocolate without using a 'brown' pastel. I used purple, red, green and blue with a touch of dark orange. I love layering colors with pastels!

Creighton Island Georgia 16x20 sold

'Serenity' 16x20 pastel

A few years ago I had a wonderful experience painting on Creighton Island, a private barrier island off the coast of Georgia. I went with a group of 10 other artists and we stayed in some rustic hunting cabins on the island. We had no electricity except for the generator that we ran for an hour each night so we could charge camera batteries! We spent a glorious week painting and exploring the island. I have so many stories that I should have written a book.....(Jayne how about another project!) This painting is 16x20 on UArt paper. This was the view from our cabin window, which was just screen...no glass!

How About Some Cake...Coconut Cake Painting

'How About Some Cake' 8x10 pastel

Today I had a monotype marathon going on in my studio. I did 15 prints and experimented with both block printing inks and Createx Monotype colors. I did both wet and dry transfers and both additive and subtractive prints....all using the same subject. My goal was to get better acquainted with my tools so I know what kind of results I can get. I will put them all together in a photo album so you can see my results. I think my favorite was my last print which was of some water lilies. I had a great time!
Today's painting: a piece of coconut cake done on LaCarte pastel card.

Winter Creek 5x7 pastel

Winter Creek 5x7 pastel

Most of us are getting tired of Winter but I admit I still enjoy painting the winter landscape. I love the starkness with the surprising bits of color. I did this painting for a student who is moving north and wanted to learn more about painting snow.

I am getting close to announcing my new website and blog. It is online but we are working on some of the details. I don't have an email subscription box and some of the links aren't working quite right but I am very happy with it. My son has been working on it but his semester just started so it may take a bit longer to get things just right. What I like is that my blog will now be integrated with my website. My paintings also show up larger. I will be posting on both blogs for awhile until I am ready to make the permanent switch. You are invited to take a peek. Let me know what you think! You can find it at www.karenmargulis.com

Monotypes & Pastel...The Nantucket Landscapes

'Sandford Farm Tree I II III' 7x5 oil paint monotype with pastel

I am continuing my experimentation with monotypes this time trying some landscapes. One of my favorite places is Nantucket Island. So I have decided to do a series of Nantucket landscapes as monotypes. I developed the prints on a glass plate with oil paints. They were transferred by hand. After each print, I made slight changes to the image before printing. When the prints dried, I went back into them with pastel. If you enlarge the photos, you will be able to see the underlying prints. I loved working on these! The prints made such a unique and unpredictable underpainting for my pastels.

Cloud Demo Painting

'Summer Sky' 8x10 pastel

I had the pleasure of having a new student this week and we worked on painting the sky and clouds. I love to paint clouds so it was a lot of fun to share some ideas for painting them. This is the demo painting I did for her. She then worked on several small cloud studies before we ran out of time. She is primarily a plein air painter so I hope my tips will help her when she gets outside this Spring!

Painting Exercise...20 second photo

'Summer Field in Maine' 5x7 pastel

If you are trying to rely less on your reference photos here is a fun exercise to try. Take your photo and allow yourself to study it for 20 seconds. Now put the photo away and paint your painting. You will be painting from your impression rather than trying to copy all of the details. You would be surprised at how much information you get in 20 seconds. Here is my painting from the 20 second photo study. I am definitely going to try to do this more often.

Sweet Week ...Chocolate Painting

'Chocolate Delight' 4x4 pastel

I have a sweet tooth which I can't deny so the week before Valentine's Day I am always so tempted by all of the sweets. This year I decided to paint the sweets....well maybe I will end up eating some. I will be sharing some candy paintings this week just for fun. This little painting is on LaCarte paper and they are chocolates my son brought me from a high end candy shop in Chicago. They were delicious!

Sunrise Landscape 11x14

'Sunrise over the Marsh' 11x14 pastel

Today's painting is another one done from a 'drive-by' photo. You know...the photos you take from the window of the car as you go 70 miles an hour down the highway. It made for a blurry photo with no color but it was enough for me to be reminded of this beautiful sunrise. I am on a mission to help my students learn to use their reference photos to help remind them and interpret their ideas instead of copying every detail in their photos. Care to join us? Tomorrow I will be posting an exercise for you to try along with my results.

Some Color for a Dreary Winter's Day

'Blue Sunflower' 5x7 pastel

I had a wonderful day painting with my friends Jayne Bachman and Marsha Savage. What a treat! It was a perfect day to stay warm inside Marsha's great new studio. Since it was so cold and rainy I felt like having fun with some color. I painted these four little 5x7 sunflower pastels. It is fun to use some of those pastel colors that I don't usually use. I am thinking about doing some really big sunflower paintings so these little ones will help me decide on some color choices for the large ones.

Summer Sky 11x14 pastel

'Summer Sky' 11x14 pastel

I love wide open spaces. So driving from Georgia to Wyoming was such a treat for me. I couldn't get enough photos of the ever changing landscape. I especially enjoyed the wonderful skies. Being able to actually see the clouds was wonderful. This scene is somewhere over Kansas. If I remember correctly it was late afternoon after a storm so it was a beautiful combination of bright clouds and dark sky and distant twinkling lights. I have pulled a few more interesting sky photos that I will be trying next. This one is on Wallis Belgian Mist with no underpainting.

St George Island Spring

'St. George Island Spring' 8x10 pastel

Dreaming of the beach today after seeing all of Corey's snow pictures from Chicago! Last Spring we spent a wonderful week on St. George Island in Florida. We walked on the beach for miles every day and wandered all over this beautiful unspoiled part of Florida. We didn't paint as much as we had planned but we did get a lot of photos so today was the perfect day to paint a beach scene. This is on UArt with an alcohol wash underpainting.

Monotype Sunflowers with Pastel

Rainy day here in Georgia so it's been a perfect day to stay inside and play! I did some monotypes today using a couple of different techniques. For these sunflowers I used black block printing ink. The top sunflower is the second print and I added pastel when the ink was dry. They are both 7x5. I also did some prints using water soluble oils. It is so much fun! I will be doing a mini workshop the weekend of February 26th working with monotypes and pastel. If you are looking for a fun afternoon of experimenting with new techniques, consider joining us. All you need to bring are your pastels...all other materials for making prints will be supplied. Please email me at kemstudios@yahoo.com for more information.