Painting the Weather...Pastel on Black Paper

'After the Storm'       8x10        pastel     ©Karen Margulis
available for purchase at Daily Paintworks $95 

Sometimes I am compelled to paint something that I didn't plan.  Circumstances intervene and inspiration strikes.  I had intended to paint another cat today with a more involved background but as I listened to the radio with the storm reports from Sandy I went in another direction.

We didn't experience the storm here in Georgia although it has been very windy and cold here the last couple of days. It is the wind and the storm that inspired today's painting. I wanted to paint something that captures the feeling of a windy day....the clearing of a storm with promise of a new day.

It was with a sense of urgency that I searched for that last piece of black sandpaper that I had been saving.  I knew the black smooth surface would work for the mood I wanted to create.  This painting is from my imagination and is more an emotional response to the weather rather than a depiction of an actual place.

I'll get to the cat painting but sometimes there is a painting in you that you just have to get out. It may not even turn out well but it is the process of creating that is important. Don't ignore that voice in your head that tells you what to paint. It is this voice that helps you put your emotions into a painting. It is no longer just a painting exercise. You are painting from your heart.