A Pastelist's Thanksgiving: Friends

'Tiny Jewels'               9x12            pastel             ©Karen Margulis
click here to purchase $145

I am headed for South Florida today. It's time for a cruise with my mom! Every year we like to  take  a cruise between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The best deals of the year are found around this time of year! It's a great way to relax during the busy holiday season. I have prepared a couple of blog post which I will share depending on my internet connection. Otherwise I'll be back to regular posting by next Friday!

Thank you for another wonderful year of sharing through my blog! I am grateful for all of my art friends both near and far. You are my art family and we share and inspire each other. Thank you!

A Pastelist's Thanksgiving: Family

'Down by the Water'             8x10               pastel             ©Karen Margulis
click here to purchase $145

There is so much to be thankful for. I am living my dream of being an artist and traveling around the world. Going to work means going downstairs to my studio and painting all day. It isn't work at all! 

But none of it would be possible without the support of my family. I am so grateful that my husband Michael understands and completely supports my passion. He holds down the fort when my sometimes crazy schedule takes me away from home. He listens to my lesson plans and ideas, offers feedback on my work and is an all around Sherpa of my supplies when needed!

The support of family is so important to the success of an artist. It makes it so much easier when family members understand our passion and offer help instead of complaints about how much time and money we may spend on art!  

So on this day of thanksgiving I offer my thanks to all of my family! My success as an artist would not be possible without you!

A Pastelist's Thanksgiving: Students

'In the Meadow'            8x10            pastel            ©Karen Margulis
click here to purchase  $145

I am grateful for the wonderful teachers that have shared their wisdom with me. They have set the bar very high. Not only have I learned and grown from their instruction but I have learned to in turn be a better teacher to my students.

Today's gratitude: I am thankful for my students. 

Their curiosity and appetite for learning about pastels and painting encourages me to find ways to challenge them. As a result we all grow. Sometimes as artists we intuitively understand art concepts....composition, value, color.... we get it but we can't always explain it.  Sometimes we don't quite get it!  There is nothing like having to explain them to a student to help me understand them better.  When I study a concept and try to come up with ways to make it clear I learn! I understand the concept better.

So  a big Thank You to my students and blog readers! Your interest and questions have made me a better artist!

"By my teaching I hope to inspire you to personal activity and to present your vision." (Robert Henri)

A Pastelist's Thanksgiving: Vendors

'Woods'                18x24                pastel                ©Karen Margulis
Sold

Pastels! Sometimes it is all about the tools. Part of the fun is in the collecting of supplies. It seems as though we can never get enough pastels.  We are very fortunate that we have so many choices available to us as pastelists. There has never been a better time to paint with pastels. The vendors have given us so many wonderful choices in pastels and papers.

Today's gratitude: I am thankful for the vendors and manufacturers of the wonderful pastels and papers I have so much fun using.

The pastels and papers we use really do make a difference in our work. I always encourage my student to buy the best materials they can afford but beautiful art can be made with all materials. It is up to us as artists to experiment and practice until we discover the right combination. That's part of the fun!

Friends, let us join together and thank the vendors! Let's show our support this holiday season and purchase some new supplies! ( I know you want to!!)

A Pastelist's Thanksgiving: Teachers

'To the Beach Once More'               18x24               pastel              ©Karen Margulis
click here to purchase $350

I have much to be thankful for. I have been blessed both in my art life and my regular life. Since this is the week of Thanksgiving I decided to devote my blog this week to my own list of gratitudes.....A Pastelist's Thanksgiving.

I'll begin the week by thanking my teachers. All of the wonderful artists who so willingly shared their passion and instruction with their students. With their lessons I have been able to find my own voice and express it with my pastels.

I am weaving a wonderful piece of cloth. Each teacher gives me the threads....some more, some I embrace, some I may discard. But it is up to me to take these threads and weave them together to create my own work...work that becomes uniquely personal. Teachers may provide the threads but it is up to the student to do the work and weave those many lessons together.

"Teaching is an essential form of payback. Most artists, including myself, owe a lot to our teachers and mentors. It's only fair to take our knowledge and 'pay it forward.' Michael Chesley Johnson

Now as a teacher myself I strive to pass on these threads to my own students. May they all weave their own beautiful cloth.

I wish to offer a thank you to all of the teachers who have given me thread for my cloth beginning with my highschool art teacher Mrs. Ruelle to my most recent teachers: (in no particular order) Marsha Savage, Terry Ludwig, Albert Handell, Richard McKinley, Stan Sperlak, Doug Dawson, Ann Templeton, Duane Wakeham, Marc Hanson, Bill Creevy, Liz Haywood-Sullivan, Elizabeth Mowry,Deborah Secor and Margaret Dyer.

A Unique Way to Use Your Art Business Cards

'Evergreen'          5x7      plein air pastel           ©Karen Margulis
click here to purchase $50

 Business cards don't have to be boring.
I love the business cards I get from Moo.comhttp://www.moo.com/share/wgf6bt. They are not boring. They are the best icebreakers money can buy. When I pass out my cards conversations are sparked. My cards have a full images of 50 of my favorite paintings. They look great, the quality is wonderful and since they look like little works of art, it is more likely that they won't get thrown away.

A new order of Moo cards

I just received a new order of cards and as I was looking through them I had a brainstorm.
These cards would make great little Christmas ornaments or gift tags! The cardstock is so nice a sturdy all I had to do was attach a loop of twine to the back of the card. I could get fancy with pretty ribbons but I like the natural look of twine.

Moo allows you to upload and use up to 50 different images to one batch of cards with no extra charge. So I have 50 different potential ornaments or tags!  If I had thought of this earlier I would have selected only my winter images. The possibilities are endless for themed ornaments!

My Moo order nicely packaged

 If you are looking for new business cards consider trying Moo.com. Follow this link to start creating your own cards. [click here]

Painting notes: Today's painting is a 5x7 plein air study I did as a demo for a workshop. uart paper, no underpainting.  I love fir trees!

The Best Grade of Uart Pastel Paper

'Listen to the Marsh Music'         18x24         pastel  on Uart 600     ©Karen Margulis
sold

 Choices are great. But sometimes too many choices can be overwhelming. I love Uart paper and one of the reasons is the variety of grits that are available. Whether you like a rough toothy surface or a smooth velvety one,  Uart has a paper for you.

What if you don't really know what you like? If you haven't tried all of the grades of Uart paper how will you know which one is best?  I decided to put the paper to the test to find out the best grade.

The answer?  I like them all!  I recommend you give this little test a try so that you can experience them all for yourself. The best grade is the grade that gives you the results you want!  My test can give you an idea of what you might expect.  (click on photos to enlarge them)

Uart Paper Grade Test

 For the test I cut small pieces of each of the 7 available grades of Uart paper. You can get a sample pack of papers at Dakota Pastels.  For the control I decided to paint the same scene with the same pastels on each sample. I chose one of my personal favorite marsh paintings because I wouldn't mind painting it 7 more times!

• The lower the number the rougher or toothier the surface. So 240, 280 and 320 are the roughest grits. For those of you who like Wallis paper these lower numbers have the closest feel to the grit of Wallis.

• The lower the number, the grainer the pastel application. Click to enlarge so you can see the textured look to my marks.

• The middle numbers 400, 500 and 600 are still toothy but not as rough as the lower numbers. 
• 400 is a good compromise between rough and smooth.
• These 3  are my preferred grades. I personally don't notice too much difference between these three so I am equally content using any of them. I would say that 400 and 500 are my favorite if I had to choose. 

• 800 grade paper is quite smooth and velvety although it is still sanded paper. I noticed a much smoother application of pastel with little feeling of texture. If you need fine detail, this grade is your best choice.

I also decided to do a layer test. I wanted to know which paper grade held the most layers of pastel. I did the test on 240 and 800 grade. I was quite surprised to find that each grade easily took 21 layers. I expected that the rougher paper would take more layers than the smooth but this was not the case. They actually could have handled more layers without filling the tooth but I stopped at 21....that's a lot of layers!

I enjoyed discovering the subtle difference the grit could make. Overall I would be happy with any of the grades. Uart is my go-to paper. I find it to be very versatile and always gives me good results. (and takes a beating when I have to fight for those results!)

Read more about Uart paper on their website here.http://www.uartpastelpaper.com/default.asp I just bought my first roll and will soon blog about how I am flattening the rolled paper.

How Blogging Has Made Me a Better Painter

'Wildwood Days'              8x10             pastel             ©Karen Margulis
available for purchase $145

10 years ago I discovered pastels. It was instant love. But it wasn't instant gratification. My paintings did not match the visions in my head. I knew what I wanted them to look like but the results were far from my vision. I took on the challenge of getting better. I knew it would take a lot of work. I was motivated but was I disciplined enough?

Fortunately 10 years ago I also started blogging. It was the best thing I ever did for my art. Not only did it improve my paintings but the blog has given me so much more.

summer memories of a day at the beach

Working on my blog and creating posts became my best teacher. It was there to remind me to paint. If I didn't paint I would have nothing to post. The blog got me into the studio more frequently. The more I painted the closer my paintings came to matching the visions in my head. I was encouraged to paint even more. It became a cycle of painting and posting with each activity helping the other.

It was like being on a good diet and exercise program. When you see the pounds come off and you start feeling healthier you are encouraged to stick with it....and when it becomes a life changing habit there is no greater feeling in the world. My blog has done the same for me! Now if only I could stick with the exercise program!

8x10 pastel from July 2005

July was the 10th anniversary of my blog. I looked back at the very first painting I posted (above) and decided to paint it again. (top image) It was fun to revisit this subject after 10 years!

Blogging has the potential to help everyone no matter how big or small their art goals are. I encourage everyone to try a blog. I will be sharing my Low Cost, Low Tech and Low Maintenance approach to blogging in my 3 hour seminar at the next IAPS convention. If you are going to IAPS consider taking my seminar! Registration will be closing soon so be sure to register as soon as possible! Visit the IAPS website here to register

What to Paint? The Most Important Consideration

'Back to the Marsh'            8x10              pastel         ©Karen Margulis
sold

I can always retreat to the marsh. It always inspires me. The many moods and colors. The wide open views. The sounds. The smells. And of course the birds. Painting the marsh gets me excited. If I am not in the mood to paint (rare) looking through my reference photos of the marshes I have visited always lights the fire.  The marsh is an old friend but I look for ways to interpret it in new ways.

I  am passionate about the marsh and I embrace that passion. It is the most important consideration for me when choosing a subject to paint. If I am passionate about a subject I will do a better job.

"The things you are passsionate about are not random. They are your calling."  

              Fabienne Fredrickson

Take some time for some serious reflection. Why do you choose the subjects you paint? If the answer is "it looks easy" then try again. The answer should be "I LOVE it and I am passionate about it"
Take the time to discover your passions. Explore them and embrace them.
Your work will be better for it.

It is Virtual Open Studio Week and all paintings in my Etsy shop are available with a 20% savings. Visit my shop to have a closer look. click here.

The Gift of Art....Virtual Open Studio Sale

'Sanibel is Calling'                8x10              pastel          ©Karen Margulis
available $145 click here

My studio will be lonely this month. My classes have wrapped up for the year and I don't have my annual Open Studio to prepare for. I will miss that.  It just didn't work out this year. The group tour didn't get organized in time. I loved having my Open Studio. Not only did it allow me to meet other artists and collectors, it forced me to clean the studio and get organized!

So this year I will take my open studio online!  This will be a Virtual Open Studio.  You can click on the tab at the top of the page to visit my studio. You can also purchase my original pastel paintings for a special Open Studio price.

Visit my Etsy shop to see the selection of available paintings. There are small to large paintings, all original pastels. For a limited time you can apply the code GIVEART14 for a 20% savings.

In a real life Open Studio I would have the opportunity to meet you and discuss my work in person. Since this is a virtual tour....I'd love for you to introduce yourself in the comments! Thank you for visiting my blog...and my studio!

To visit my studio click here.
To see the available paintings click here.

painting notes: Uart paper with a warm underpainting of red and orange Nupastels.

Painting on the Go with a Small Travel Kit

'Beauty in the Bush'. 5x7. Pastel. sold

You never know when you might have some downtime. And when there is downtime I am itching to paint. It has been a busy few days visiting my son, daughter-in-law and grandbaby in Chicago. Yesterday we braved the cold and snow and went for two long walks in the neighboring park and at the Chicago Botanic Garden. I was in heaven. The snow made a wonderful backdrop for the lingering fall color and the emerging winter colors. My timing was perfect (and I did make a wish for a little snow)

One of my favorite sights was a big fat Cardinal in the middle of a purple Beauty Berry bush. He sat for my photos content to get his fill of berries. I knew I wanted to paint him. So when we decided to make today a stay at home day I was content to pull out my Mini pastel kit and paint the cardinal.

My small travel kit has gotten a lot of mileage. It is actually a book cover that zips closed. Inside I can fit everything I need to paint 5x7 and smaller. I have two small boxes filled with assorted pastel pieces. I make sure I have a variety of colors in a range of values. If I don't have the right color I will at least have the right value.
Today it was much too cold for plein air so I used my iPad mini to pull up my Cardinal photos and worked inside where it was warm and cozy. As always I am glad I threw my travel kit into my backpack!

Posted with Blogsy

The Secret to Painting a Believable Meadow

'Meadow Walk'               9x12                pastel                 ©Karen Margulis
purchase painting here $145

I dream of running through a beautiful meadow filled with wildflowers. I think it goes back to my childhood and a trip to the North Carolina mountains. We hiked to the top of the mountain and picnicked in a picture perfect meadow. I carry this vision in my head. When I began painting I was drawn to landscapes with wildflowers. But when I tried to paint them they fell flat.

My wildflower meadows looked as if a child came in with a box of crayons and added dots of flowers. This wasn't the romantic vision in my head!

I was determined to paint a meadow, field, prairie, marsh [insert your favorite landscape] that looked authentic. I wanted my grassy areas to look believable. If I chose to add flowers I didn't  want them to look like a child added them.  After painting many, many meadows I have a much better understanding of the things that make a meadow work.  I have techniques and tips that I use to help me create the meadows in my dreams.

I will be sharing these tips and techniques next June in my 3 hour Demonstration at the IAPS Convention. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to join the faculty at the convention and to be able to share with my fellow artists.  I am planning a fast paced session packed full of demo paintings, tips and fun!  You don't want to miss it!


Here is one of my favorite tips for painting a wildflower meadows:

It is all about MASSING. The best way to approach a field filled with wildflowers is to treat the flowers as one big mass or collection of masses rather than painting lots of tiny dots. SQUINT and see the big simple shapes of the flower groupings. Paint these shapes. Then come back and add just a few individual flowers at the edges of the masses. Let the viewer fill in the rest. 



Registration for IAPS is MONDAY November 17th at noon ET  Visit the website here to look at the schedule and plan your classes. 

6 Steps to a Mini Pastel Painting

'Morning on the Marsh'             2.5 x 3.5           pastel              ©Karen Margulis
available here $15

Have I convinced you yet? Have you tried painting a mini? Mini Week continues with a look at a simple way to paint small. There are so many ways to paint with pastels. There are hard pastels, soft pastels, Pan pastels, pastel pencils.....anything goes. It can be overwhelming. Sometimes I just want a simple method. This is a quick look at my favorite method ....6 Steps to a Mini. 

1. Quick light drawing of the big shapes with pencil.

2. Block in the dark shapes.

3. Block in the light shapes.

4. Block in the most intense color.  

5. Fill in the rest of the paper. Usually middle value.

6. Continue developing the painting and clarifying the focal area.

This is a quick look at this technique. It is a helpful way to simplify a busy reference photo and it works for any subject. I painted a snowman for my class showing them how this method still works!  If you would like to see it in more detail you might like to explore my pdf demo available on Etsy.

How to Store and Display Small Pastel Paintings

'Fall Fantasy 13'              2.5 x 3.5         pastel          ©Karen Margulis
click here to purchase $15

Mini Week continues with a look at how to store and display these wonderful little gems. I am sharing an older post with some new paintings. Enjoy!

I admit it. I am a paintaholic. I paint for the sake of creating. I am compelled to take up my pastels everyday and paint something. Once they are finished I am ready to move on to the next one. It is the process of creating that interests me not the final product. Having a good painting is certainly the ultimate goal but the fun is in the journey to get there.  Every once in awhile I become attached to a particular painting but for the most part I am happy to share them with others or hide them away in boxes. 

 I love painting these miniature pastels. They force me to simplify and I learn so much from doing them. They are also very relaxing to paint which is why I like to paint them while on vacation!  I encourage you to try to paint a few minis!

The official rule for these minis often called ATC (Artist Trading Cards) or ACEO's (Art Cards Editions and Originals) is that they measure 2.5x3.5 inches. That's it. They are actually quite easy to store and display. It is a great way to add a touch of original art to your space. And they make wonderful gifts.

Last year I made a You Tube video on storing and displaying these mini pastels so I thought it would be a good time to share it again!  Enjoy the video and paint some minis today!

                            

See all available minis in my Etsy shop. They make great holiday gifts!

Mini Week: 10 Reasons to Paint Small part 2

'Fall Fantasy 6'         2.5 x 3.5
sold

How small can we go? Have you tried painting a mini pastel? I used to think 5x7 was small until I gave minis a try.  I choose 2.5 x 3.5 as my mini size because ready made frames and mats are available. I will share storage and presentation ideas later this week. Mini Week continues with a look at 5 more reasons to paint small. If you missed the first 5 reasons click here to read them.

6. Economical. Minis are great because they don't cost much in materials. I don't use much pastel at all and I cut my scrap papers into 2.5 x 3.5 pieces. I buy my pastel paper in full size sheets and cut them down to size. I am always left with thin strips. I save these strips until I need paper for minis then I cut them down to size.

'Fall Fantasy 7'           2.5 x 3.5 

7. Eco-Friendly. Save the environment and recycle paper for minis. Not only do I use my paper scraps, I also recycle failed paintings and cut them up for minis. Instead of throwing away a failed painting I do an alcohol wash over the offending painting, let it dry and cut it up. I get lots of nice dark toned paper to paint on!

'Fall Fantasy 8'          2.5 x 3.5

8. Fine Motor Practice. Painting small is one of the best ways to develop and fine tune control over your pastel sticks. Sometimes a chunk of pastel can seem awkward and unwieldy. It take practice to figure out just the right touch to make the marks you want. 

'Fall Fantasy 9'          2.5 x 3.5 

9. Experiment. Painting small leads to getting more creative and experimental. I find it less daunting to experiment on a scrap of paper. If it doesn't turn out I didn't waste much. I have tried many interesting techniques on a mini before I did a larger version.

'Fall Fantasy 10'           2.5 x 3.5 

10. FUN!  The best reason of all to paint minis is because it is fun and relaxing. I like to sit when I paint the minis. I find that the more I do, the more I want to do. The more I do the more expressive they become.  Working small allows me to gain experience with the important parts of good painting....composition, value, color, drawing. I learn while I am having fun....can't beat that!

See all available minis including some not shown on my blog in my Etsy shop. Click here.

Mini Week: 10 Reasons to Paint Small

'Fall Fantasy 1'            2.5 x 3.5            pastel            ©Karen Margulis
sold

Why would you want to paint so small?  This is one of the questions I get when someone sees me painting these mini pastels. I can think many reasons to limit the size of my paintings every once in awhile. I've boiled them down to 10.  Enjoy my latest mini pastels as I share 5 of the top ten reasons to paint small (2.5 x 3.5 inch artist trading card size)

1: Simplify. Limiting the size of the paper limits how much I can put in. It forces me to simplify and pick out the big simple shapes. It is easier to suggest details in a smaller space. This is great practice for seeing simply that can be transferred to larger paper.

'Fall Fantasy 2'   2.5 x 3.5    

2. Color Studies: Trying out color schemes on small paper saves time and frustration. It is quick and easy to try several color scheme possibility in a mini painting. I get a good idea of the color choices before investing time and supplies on a larger painting.

'Fall Fantasy 3'         2.5 x 3.5

 3. Affordable: I love having small affordable originals for my collectors. These minis are affordable for anyone to add fine art to their home. It's a win-win. I learn from painting them and collectors enjoy collecting them!

'Fall Fantasy 4'       2.5 x 3.5 

4. Gifts:  Not only are mini pastels affordable for collectors they are great gifts for anyone. I love to gift my minis throughout the year but especially for the holidays. They are great to give to children as an introduction to collecting original art. I have also used them as table place cards for the holiday table. Put them in small frames for a great party favor!

'Fall Fantasy 5'          2.5 x 3.5 

5. Portable: This is probably my favorite reason for painting small.... I can take them with me anywhere!  I have a small pastel kit that I keep in a zippered book cover. It holds a small box of pastels, 2.5 x 3.5 inch papers, wipes and a small piece of foam core.....I can throw this in my car or backpack and I am ready to paint anywhere!

I will share 5 more reasons and 5 more Fall minis in tomorrow's post.  All of the minis are available for purchase in my Etsy shop. $15 each. click here to purchase