Favorite Paintings of 2012 ....Skies and Clouds

'Pink Sky at Night'       11x14     pastel    ©Karen Margulis
available for purchase $175 Paypal

I learned a lot from my year of experimentation.  I learned what subjects I didn't care for and I learned what subjects pulled me in.  I took a six week figure painting class and painted from live models.  It was a great challenge but my heart wasn't in in.  Maybe someday I will be drawn to the figure but for now it is the landscape that makes my hear sing.

I am never tired of painting the ever changing sky and clouds.  I love to play with color in the clouds.  It means I have to simplify the ground so that my clouds can be the star of the show.  I chose this 11x14 pastel as one of my favorites because I was happy with the simple foreground and loved the colors in the sky and clouds.

In 2012 I experimented with various ways to portray the sky and clouds and found a fun technique which I will share in my next post.

I want to wish everyone a very Happy and creative New Year!!

My Favorite Paintings of 2012 ...Dusting Technique

'Believe in Magic'       19x27       pastel    SOLD

2012 was about trying new mediums and new techniques.  Last February I discovered dusting. I saw great possibilities for this fun pastel technique.  Dusting is actually an old technique and you can read more about it on my post on Dusting. Be sure to see the link on Richard McKinley's blog post on dusting.  All you do it shave pastel over your painting where you want the dust and push it into the paper. I use a rolling pin and glassine paper. 

I choose this painting as one of my favorites because I love the way the pastel dusting adds to the effect of a tangle of wildflowers and blowing pollen from the bumblebees.  I am happy that it sold and has a good home but I will be finding ways to use dusting more in my work.

step by step demo of 'Believe in Magic'

You can read more about how this painting developed and the dusting technique in my blog post HERE

Top 5 Favorite Paintings ... Wildflowers in Oil

'Blue Skies Smiling'      30x40      oil on linen  ©Karen Margulis  sold

My year of Experimentation continued in April of 2012 when I attended the 1st Annual Plein Air Convention in Las Vegas.  I was a minority with my pastels and I was intrigued and inspired by the oil painters.  I returned home, took out the oil paints I had but never used and tried them.  I worked with a limited palette of alizarin crimson, ultramarine blue, cad yellow medium white and black. I tried doing a daily oil painting but manage maybe a few each month.

I thoroughly enjoyed painting with oils. I loved the textures I could achieve and I love pushing the paint around with a brush.  My appetite was wet!  This painting is meaningful for me because it is not only the largest I have ever painted it was an oil painting!  I was happy that I was comfortable enough with this new medium to tackle a large painting.

I finished the year with a plein air oil workshop with Marc Hanson. The flu and travel have not allowed me to get into the studio to practice what I learned so you can be sure that oils will be high on my goal list for 2013.

If you would like to see a post and photos showing this painting as a work in progress click here for the blog post.

My Favorite Paintings of 2012 ...Desert Landscapes

'Desert Impressions I'      4x4     pastel     $40 in my Etsy shop

Welcome to my second annual countdown of my 5 Favorite Paintings of the Year.  These are not necessarily m y best paintings but they have a personal meaning for me. They represent an accomplishment of a goal or a turning point or perhaps were just the most fun to paint.  Each day for the next five days I will share one of them and explain why they made the list.

Looking back on 2012 and my paintings I can sum it up with one word...Experimentation.  I continued to do a daily painting now on my 6th year.  But this year in a way I was all over the place with my work.  I tried different pastel techniques. I worked in acrylics. I started painting in oil.  I didn't seem to have a direction but my direction was to play and experiment.  My motto of the year was "What would happen if I tried....."

I'm not sure I made any real progress towards taking my work to the next level but I do know that I painted a lot and  I learned a lot and that at some point I will benefit from the year of experimentation!

'Desert Impressions II'     4x4      pastel

The two paintings I am sharing today are quick studies only 4x4 inches each.  Why did they make the list?  I like the loose feel in both of them and it is a result of the surface.  These are both done on a home made surface. I used pieces of matboard and applied some clear gesso with a brush.  The clear gesso gives just enough tooth and the random brushstrokes creates a textured surface.

This was a successful experiment for me.  I have always enjoyed my own surfaces but didn't like the mess of mixing pumice and gesso. The clear gesso was quick and easy and worked great on all of the papers I tried in on including Canson.  I will be using this surface more in the coming year!

What paintings form 2012 mean the most to you?  Have you thought about why?  It will give you clues to the direction you may wish to go in 2013!

Another Reason for Small Paintings

'Among the Dunes'        5x7      pastel      ©Karen Margulis
sold

Painting small is very useful.  In yesterday's post I talked about the benefits of painting small quick minis.  You can read about it here.  There is another reason that I like to paint small.  I like to do small quick studies in preparation for larger paintings.  I find it is helpful to work out potential problems on a smaller scale. I can try out colors and possible compositions and underpaintings  without the fear of ruining a large piece of paper.  I work quickly on these little studies and use the same paper that I will be using in the bigger painting.

Today's dune painting is a study for a large pastel commission. It will be 24x30 on Uart.  I am also doing a companion piece which will have the same color palette but a different view of the dunes.  I like doing small studies for commission because it allows the client to give me their thoughts and request for changes before I work on the larger piece. It saves us both time and going back and forth with corrections.

I will be posting my top 3 favorite paintings of 2012 along with what makes them special for me. Be sure to come back and see my choices!

How to Paint a Series Quickly ...Poppy Paintings

'Tiptoe Through the Poppies'           2.5 x 3.5         Pastel      ©Karen Margulis  sold

The best way to become a better artist is by practice....lots of it.  The more you can paint, the faster you will see improvement.  This is the advice I give my students.  But I know not every one has time in their schedule to paint as often as they would like. Here is a tip that will help you accomplish a lot in a little time....Paint a series and make them small!  

The poppy paintings in this post are all 2.5x3.5 inches and were painted on my recent cruise.  Each one probably took no more than 15 minutes.  Have a look and then read my thoughts on why it works.

'Blowing in the Breeze'     2.5x3.5    pastel sold 

2.5x3.5    pastel

'Summer in the Mountains'    2.5x3.5     pastel sold

'Poppy Dance'    2.5x3.5    pastel

'Red Poppy'    2.5x3.5     pastel

'Dance of the Pink Poppies'     2.5x3.5     pastel  sold

Why paint a series?  When you paint the same subject several times each one gets easier. You work out the issues with painting the subject in your first painting. You choose colors. You study your subject and get to know it. With each successive painting you are free to explore compositions, other color palettes, different styles for example. This helps you paint more quickly and efficiently.

Why paint small?  I don't always recommend painting small but for this exercise painting small will get you painting. It is easier to find 15 minutes in a busy schedule to work on a quick little mini.  There is no pressure to finish or waste a big piece of paper.  Painting in a small format is manageable and remember the more you paint....the more you will see progress!

All of these minis are available in my Etsy shop. Click Here to visit my shop.

Winter Impressions in Pastel

'Winter Peace'            9x12            pastel          ©Karen Margulis

Today is Christmas and I am up in the mountains with family hoping for a dusting of snow.  I would love some new snow reference photos.  I enjoy painting the winter landscape.  One reason is that a snow covered landscape can simplify a complicated scene.  It is easier to paint a looser more impressionistic landscape when it is already simplified.

There are a few tricks for painting snow which I will share in upcoming posts but for today I will share with you one of my personal favorite winter paintings. I painted this last year on my home made pastel surface. I was struggling with the texture of the paper when I decided to just blend it all and start over.  I liked the soft blended effect so I left it.  I would like to do more of these simple landscapes in the coming year.

An Artist's List for Santa

'Everyone Loves Santa'              8x10           pastel        ©Karen Margulis

I am a lucky artist. I am blessed with a wonderful family and circle of friends.  I am able to paint and teach full time, sharing my love of art with others through my work and through this blog.  I thank each and every one of you for being there, sharing with me and visiting the blog to see what I am working on.  I wish you all the Happiest of Holidays!

On a fun note I want to share my list for Santa.  I really don't need a thing but if I wasn't too old for Santa to visit there are a few things that would be on my dream list!

1. More pastels!  I would love a full set of Diane Townsend soft form pastels and a full set of Terry Ludwig pastels. 
2. A new studio box to store them in!  A large Heilman box would be great. I currently have a home made box that I can't close. It would be great to have a big box that could be moved when needed.
3. Six folding easels that I could use for my classes so my students wouldn't have to bring their easels to class.
4. 100 pieces of 18x24 pastel paper. I'll take an assortment of Uart, Wallis, LaCarte and Canson. This should be enough to fill my paper rack for awhile!
5. A roundtrip plane ticket to anywhere. I already have some great trips planned but it is always nice to dream about another adventure!

That should do it for me!  Of course this is just a dream list but it sure is fun to dream!  What is on your list for Santa this year?

Today's painting is an 8x10 pastel commission. It is painted on Wallis Belgian Mist paper.

Three Art Tasks to do Before the New Year

'The Road Home'       8x10        pastel    ©Karen Margulis
available at Daily Paintworks $75  click here

I am home from a wonderful cruise. I didn't paint as much as I usually do on a cruise but I did a lot of sketching, observing and reflecting.  It was a good time to relax with my daughter and recharge for the coming year.
 Christmas is upon us and for those who celebrate I wish you a very Merry Christmas filled with warmth and wonder.  I will be spending the next few days with my family but I know I will have some downtime and won't be able to help myself from looking ahead to 2013.  If you are like me and would like to get a jump start on getting ready for a productive year, here are three things to do over the next week.

1.  Organize and Back up your photos.  I take thousands of photos over the year. I have photos of every painting as well as photos from my trips and other adventures.  I load them on my computer and organize them in files.  I try to back up my files to a portable hard drive and a CD every month.  I sometimes forget so their are some missing back ups.  This is a good time to make sure all of your photos are backed up. It is also a good time to organize your photo files so you can have a clean slate for the next batch of photos.  I just made a dvd of the last couple of months of photos so I am all caught up. It feels good.

2.  Painting Inventory   I am not good at keeping an inventory of my work. I have tried computerized record keeping and an old fashioned notebook but nothing seems to work for me. I give up after a month of keeping track.  I am not proud of this but it is just me. I'd rather paint then do book keeping.  I do have a system for storing my work so I can find work when it is needed.
If you are a good record keeper or a bad one like me, it is a good time of year to review your inventory. I go through my online galleries and make sure sold paintings are marked and remove older work to make room for new. I also take down any work I have hanging up and file it. I want to have clean walls to fill in the New Year.

3.  Reflecting on the Good   I will be making a list of the 10 accomplishments I made with my art over the past year.  So often we only think about what we failed to accomplish or the negative things that happened.  I want to be sure to reflect on the good things too.

I will also be starting to think about the goals for next year and theses three tasks will help me have a positive and clear mind as I make my goals!

Plein Air in St. Maarten

'Caribbean Christmas'      5x7    gouache

It was a warm day in the Caribbean today.  We arrived in St. Maarten this morning and took the water taxi over to the town. It was fun to see all of the Christmas decoration and to hear Christmas songs on the steel pan drums!  It was a gorgeous day with blue skies and just enough clouds to make it interesting. We rented two lounge chairs and a beach umbrella for the day.

I decided to bring along my gouache kit. It was a good choice. Quick and easy set up and no mess. I even filled my little container with sea water.  I used a limited palette of ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson, cad yellow medium and white. I had trouble the other day getting the Caribbean turquoise blue and luckily I had a tube of Holbein Sky blue which did the trick!

'The America's Cup Challenge'       5x7     gouache

I have been asked about my process with gouache so this afternoon I took a few photos of my painting in process before my camera battery died. I will post a demo tomorrow so be sure to come back and see!

Why a Sketch is Better than a Photo

Sketch from my Cruise Sketch Book

Day three of my cruise vacation.  We had a day to explore St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands.  I have been to St. Thomas several times and one of my favorite spots is beautiful Magens Bay.  I have done several paintings from photos I took at the beach. On of the paintings, 'Magens Bay Shade' was selected by the Caneel Bay Resort on the island of St. John for the artwork in their guest rooms.

Today I decided to bring along my sketchbook to Magens Bay.  I always take a lot of photos but I love to sketch and find that my sketches can often evoke more memories than a photo can.  I can look back on the sketches I did during my last cruise and vividly recall the scene or person in the sketch.

sketches from Magens Bay

 Why do sketches have the power to evoke such strong memories?  For me I believe it is because when we sketch we are involving all of our senses.  We are present in the scene....we are a part of it. We hear the sounds around us, smell the smells, can feel the sun or the cold or the breeze.  We have to concentrate on what we are sketching.  We see more and we see better.  Taking a photo is so quick and   we don't have a chance to really experience the scene.

I have been filling my sketchbook with quick ink gesture sketches. I am concentrating on sketching my fellow passengers.  This is prime people watching territory!  And today with 6 cruise ships in port, Magens Bay was filled with great sketching material. Here are a few of today's sketches....

A Small Pastel Set Up In Action

'Poppy Happiness'      2.5 x 3.5     pastel     ©Karen Margulis

It was a beautiful day at sea.  We are on our way to the Virgin Islands and it was calm seas, blue skies and puffy white clouds. The breeze was light and refreshing. I couldn't have asked for more ideal lounge chair painting conditions!

I decided to paint with my pastels today so I took my small Plein Air bag up to the Lido deck and found a nice lounger in the sun.  To set up for painting I put down a small piece of vinyl tablecloth to protect the chair from any pastel dust.  I opened up my box of pastels and took out my small foamcore support board and taped down my 2.5 x 3.5 paper. I also took out my small bag of baby wipes so I can keep clean.

I brought some reference photos to use but I decided to work on a series of poppy paintings. I had fun with composition and color on these little ones!  It was a great day to be painting outside.

** I am trying to post a photo of my set up but I am having technical difficulties. I can't complain about the satellite internet service but I will have to try tomorrow to post more photos. I'm late for dinner!

Painting in the Bahamas ...Trip Report Day One

'In the Bahamas'      4x6    gouache   ©Karen Margulis

Cruising sure has changed!  Before cell phones and the internet,  when you left home port you were pretty much off the grid unless you wanted to pay for an expensive ship to shore phone call.  Now we are connected even at sea.  Cruise ships have internet access and on the Carnival Dream you can now buy an unlimited high speed internet plan.  So here I am in my cabin reporting live.

Today we stopped in Nassau, Bahamas.  it was just a short stop so we decided to stay on the ship and relax.  It was cloudy and drizzly in the morning so we had a time trying to find a sheltered lounge that was dry. We wanted to be outside despite the cloudy weather. During the morning the sun came in and out and it was in the upper 70's so we can't complain.

I decided to paint with my new gouache set up today.  In the photo below you can see my set up.  I have a small Stay-Wet Palette, some brushes, a few tubes of paint, a collapsable water bottle and a small container for water.  It all fit nicely in a clear plastic zippered bag. 

My Lounge Chair Gouache Set-Up

I used the lid of the palette to put my paper in while I painted. I used a 4x6 piece of coverstock paper. It held a lot of paint without buckling. I painted a scene that I could see from my vantage point on the deck of the ship. It was a distant beach lined with palm trees. here was a large hotel behind the trees but I took artistic license to remove the trees.  I really enjoyed the gouache. It was similar to pastels in the way I could layer color and it was so much neater!  I really worked well for lounge chair painting.

Tomorrow we are at sea all day. I am hoping for a nice sunny day with little wind which would be the ideal conditions for lounge chair painting. Tomorrow I will take out the pastels!

The Ocean is Calling!

'Ocean Dreams'      8x10     pastel

The ocean is calling!  I am sailing today on the Carnival Dream to the Eastern Caribbean.  I am taking my daughter on a cruise for her 21st birthday. I know, any excuse for a cruise!   I have my pastels and gouache packed and I am looking forward to a week of relaxation and painting on a lounge chair!  I anticipate having unlimited internet on the ship so I am planning to do a daily trip report.  I hope you will come back each day to see what I have been up to on my Caribbean adventure!

This wave pastel is available for $145. Email me for details.

Sharing Pastels with Children

'Painting the Town'          9x12        pastel           ©Karen Margulis  sold

Monday was a great day in my studio!  I had the honor of hosting a group of Elementary students from Art Club.   Their wonderful art teacher found my work online and asked if I would like to share my studio and talk to her students about being an artist.  She brought her group of 15 students and we had a great time!

I started with a studio tour and a talk about my typical day.  I made sure to tell them that it takes practice to become a better artist and that we all need a place where we can leave some art supply set up....a little art corner.  I have heard back from the teacher and several of the kids are planning their Art Corners!

I then talked to them about pastels....what they are, how they are made, and ways we can use them. I painted this snowman for my demo so they could see how I layered the pastels and how I chose my colors.  I had paper and pastels set up and everyone had a chance to paint.  Wonderful paintings were created and a fun time was had by all!

A Great Resource for Reference Photos...Copyright free!

'Bathtime'      5x7        pastel       ©Karen Margulis  purchase here $45

 So you feel like painting a cat but you don't have any good cat photos to inspire you.  What do you do?  Well, you don't just get a photo from a magazine or calendar. You don't just surf the internet for cute cat photos either.  Why?  Because these images are copyright protected.  Unless you have permission from the photographer, artists aren't supposed to  use the photo to paint from.   Besides it is usually best to paint from your own reference photos because you are more intimate with the subject.

But sometimes you want to paint something and you don't have your own photo to help you.  Or sometimes you just get tired of your own photos but don't want to use copyrighted material.  That's when I visit the Reference Image Library at Wet Canvas.com.

My painting set-up. Reference photo on iPad

If you haven't visited Wet Canvas.com you are in for a treat.  I love the many forums devoted to every art medium you can think of.  When I was new to pastel I learned so much from the generous artists in the Pastel Forum.  But another good reason to join wet canvas is to use their reference image library.  This library consists of images uploaded by the members.  When you upload a photo you are allowing other artists to use the image for their own art. The library is well organized and easily searched. If you want a photo of a bird in the snow, you will find it here.

I have thousands of reference photos but sometimes none of them inspire me! So a quick visit to the reference image library will usually cure the uninspired blahs and get me excited to paint again!

Mixing Pastel With Oil Paints with Random Underpaintings

'Indian Summer Bouquet'         8x10         pastel       ©Karen Margulis

I love mixing pastels with other media. One of my favorite combinations is pastel and oil paint.  A few weeks ago I wanted to use up some leftover oil paint on my palette so I prepared some random underpaintings.  I call them random underpaintings because I didn't have any subject in mind when I created them.  It was all about making interesting colors and shapes and drips.  See my original post on oil underpaintings here.

My goal was not only to use up the paint but to create an underpainting that was an interesting abstract.  I would go back to these random underpaintings when I was looking for a painting challenge and didn't have anything in particular in mind.

A Random Underpainting...oil stain on Uart paper

Today I didn't have anything in particular in mind to paint so I took out one of the random underpaintings.  I looked at it for a few minutes and I started to imagine some wildflowers that would be past their prime....maybe taking on the colors of Fall.

 I took out my reference photos and found a photo of Queen Annes Lace taken in the late summer/early Fall.  It became my inspiration for the painting.  If you look at the finished painting you can see bits of the underpainting peeking through.  The main thing though was this underpainting suggested my subject and I went with it.  This is a good way to help you interpret a photo rather than copy it!

Does working with pastel and other media intrigue you? Are you in the Atlanta area?  I will be teaching a course in January on pastels and mixed media at the Art School of Sandy Springs.  Email me for more information!  Visit the school's website The Art School in Sandy Springs

Fun with Pastels....Painting Snowmen

'The Dusty Snowman'           5x7        pastel      ©Karen Margulis

I am waiting for the Art Club to visit my studio today.  A group of 14 children will be coming to see a working artist's studio and to try pastel painting.   I am all set up and looking forward to introducing them to the wonderful world of pastels.  I'll be doing a demo and thought it would be fun to paint some snowmen.  I did a warm-up with my Dusty Snowman painting.  This snow lady  loves pastels. There is not a pastel brand or color that she doesn't like. She is always happy to add another set to her collection!

'The Plein air Snowman'         5x7         pastel 

This is the Plein air Snowman. He is happiest when painting outdoors...preferably in the cold snow!

Both snowman paintings are done on Uart paper with no underpainting and using a variety of soft pastels.

Mini Pastel Demo ...Mountain Chickadee

'Mountain Chickadee'              5x7            pastel            ©Karen Margulis
sold

I was in the mood to paint birds today.  My usual set up for small bird or animal paintings is to sit at a table with my paper on a small piece of foamcore. This works well for 6x8 or smaller pieces. I decided to use Canson Mi-Teintes paper in the Moonstone color. I actually love Canson for painting animals.  It gives you a nice soft surface and allows for just enough layers to help keep the painting fresh.  I am sharing the few photos I took of my process. It is a quick process and was hard to remember to stop and take photos!

 My set up for today's painting.  My reference photo is on my iPad.  I put down a towels to catch any dust.  My pastels are in a butcher tray although my big studio box is on the table as well.  I chose a few pastels to help keep a limited palette.

After I did an initial quick sketch I block in the dark values on the bird and the branch.  I layer 2 or 3 dark colors to make these areas rich and colorful.  I put the highlights in the eye right away because the eye gives my bird life and I want to get it right! Besides it is nicer to look at while I paint!

I look at my reference photos and try to see what colors are in the feathers.  I know that the Mountain Chickadee looks grey, black and white, but I see lots of colors in his feathers. I see greens and gold undertones so I put them in now.  I exaggerate the colors a bit because I know I can always tone them down.  I also start to put in some of the darker background colors. I will lighten this some.

Next I put in the lightest colors. I use pale values of yellow and blue in the white areas of the bird. At this point I am almost finished. It is just a matter of finishing the background and tightening the details on the bird.  I also lost track of taking photos!  For the background I added some pale blues and yellows.

Finishing touches:  I uses a pastel pencil to define the beak and some of the darker feathers. I used a pale purple pastel to draw some distant branches. I dusted a bit of white pastel for some snow sparkle. 

Art Supplies in Unexpected Places

'Winter Warmth'             5x7              pastel

You never know what art  goodies you will find while shopping.  I usually find the best stuff for art in my thrift store treasure hunts. But today I found a treasure in the most unexpected store.....Target!  My daughter and I decided to tackle out Christmas shopping today and Target was our first (and only) stop.  We had our list and knew that we would be able to find just about everything we needed.  Our family only does a grab bag gift exchange so shopping really is easy.  I wasn't looking for anything for myself but when I found these treasures in the stocking stuffer aisle I was thrilled!

A golf towel turned into a pastel rag from Target

I found these great golf towels for only $3 each.  They are the perfect size for clipping onto my painting apron.  The size of the towel is perfect for wiping hands and pastels while painting.  I usually take a dish towel and throw it over my shoulder but having the towel attached to my apron will be a better solution.  The towel comes with a metal clip.  I will probably use some of my dishtowels and just poke a hole in them for the clip.
I had been on the lookout for golf towels like these but I didn't want to pay a lot for them and I don't have a golfer husband!
So when doing your Holiday shopping this year, keep your eyes open for goodies you can use for art!

Using Plein Air Study for a Studio Painting

'Early Morning Meeting'      5x7        gouache      ©Karen Margulis  $50 purchase here

I am starting to think about my art goals for the New Year and more plein air painting will be a big one!     I had such a great time painting on Pawleys Island that I know I need to make more time in my schedule to paint outside more often.

Today's painting is another small gouache I did this week.  I was inspired by two of the plein air studies I did on Pawleys. I used my oil painting for the composition idea but I wanted to capture the early morning pink colors that I saw in the little plein air pastel (below)

This was a good exercise in using my studies for studio work.  Now I can take all of these studies and use them for a much larger pastel painting.  I love the arrangement of the egrets who gathered across the creek every morning. And while I like the warm colors of this area later in the day, I prefer the soft pinks of very early morning.

'Creek Study Early Morning'      5x7     pastel

I am still under the weather.  It must have been the flu!  I have no energy at all! I hope to get some energy back soon so I can return to painting and regular posting!

Comparing Wallis Pastel Paper to LaCarte

'Winter Jewel'         5x7       pastel  on LaCarte    ©Karen Margulis 

I have a stash of precut pastel paper so I am ready to paint when the mood  strikes.  There is nothing worse than spoiling a moment of inspiration than having to find and cut some paper.  In my stash I have scraps from several different pastel papers. They are usually 5x7 scraps from larger pieces.  I like to have the variety and choose my paper depending on the kind of painting I want to do.  Today I decided to paint two similar paintings on different papers just to compare and contrast.  I chose a piece of Wallis Belgian Mist and a pice of brown Sennelier LaCarte paper.

'Winter Red'       5x7     pastel   on Wallis paper    $45 Etsy

I have often said that my favorite paper for animals is LaCarte and after today's exercise I would have to agree.  LaCarte is a sanded surface made from a vegetable fiber. It feels very soft yet it can hold many layers. It is this soft feel that I think translates well to animal fur and feathers.  Pastels, especially the softest ones just glide onto the paper like butter. Here are a few observations from my painting session today:

• I enjoyed working on the warm middle toned surface of both the Wallis and LaCarte. I don't usually do an underpainting for animals so the paper color works well when it peeks through in spots. 
• I found that the LaCarte grabbed the pastel and seemed to hold it in place while the Wallis was a bit more 'slippery' This translated to a feeling of more control on the LaCarte.  This control is helpful when you want to get tighter details like feathers and fur. 
• Both of these papers will hold many layers of pastel and while I didn't do a test I would give the edge to Wallis.  However for my paintings today I was most interested in getting a quick impression of the Cardinal in the snow so I wasn't interested in building up a lot of layers.  Both papers allowed me to achieve this goal.

In conclusion, I enjoy Wallis Belgian Mist for landscape studies. I like to use it when I don't want to do an underpainting. It is perfect for plein air field studies.  I have been out of this paper for awhile and just got my order so I will look forward to using it.  This exercise reminded me how much I enjoy LaCarte and that I need to order more soon!

If you would like to read a detailed review of LaCarte see my post here:http://kemstudios.blogspot.com/2012/02/great-surface-for-animal-paintings-my.html

Pastel Review...Mount Vision Tropical Set

'Paradise'          5x7         pastel         ©Karen Margulis  $45 buy here

 New Pastels!  Is there anything better than opening up a new box of pastels?  I love to just admire the colors in a pristine new box. So much so that I have a box of Richard McKinley pastels that I haven't touched in 2 years because I can't bear to get them messy. (to be fair I keep them to show students who are looking to buy new pastels)

I haven't bought any pastels in awhile so I decided to treat myself to a new set. I thought that a set of tropical colors would be fun to take on my cruise next week so I chose the Mount Vision Tropical set of 25 pastels.  They arrived this week and today I had a chance to try them out.  Here are some initial thoughts.

Mount Vision Tropical Pastel Set

• Mount Vision pastels are always a good value. You get a nice size handmade pastel stick that can be easily broken into three smaller pieces which is what I like to do right away. Otherwise they are actually too big for me to use!  This set of 25 pastels cost $74 at Blicks.com but I had a 20% coupon and free shipping. Here is the link http://www.dickblick.com/products/mount-vision-soft-pastel-sets/
• I would consider these pastels to be medium soft. They are a great workhorse pastel in that they are hard enough for beginning layers yet soft enough to get nice effects in ending layers. I can use them from start to finish although I do prefer to use some of my softer pastels for my ending marks. 
• The colors are wonderful!  These pastels really are eye candy! Just look at those bright happy tropical colors!  Of course I like to challenge myself to paint using just the set alone.  The two paintings on this page were done with just the tropical set except I did have to add a light cream in the bottom painting.  I would say that this set will definitely have to be a supplement to my regular cruise travel set.  The colors are bright and vibrant but not enough range in value & color  to use alone for every painting.

'Island Colors'      5x7      pastel 

In conclusion....if you are looking to supplement your pastel collection with some vibrant tropical colors then this set would be a good choice.  I can see these colors to be useful for other subjects such as flowers and even fun abstracts.....ohhh now there's an idea!