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Sunday, February 07, 2016

How to Paint Grass with Pastels...New YouTube Video


'Lyrical Marsh'         5x7      pastel        ©Karen Margulis
available $75
 Landscape painters have to deal with it and it can be a challenge. Meadows, fields, marshes, prairies....most landscapes include grasses of some sort. How much grass should we put in a painting? How can we paint grass that looks natural and believable?  I struggled with grasses and my paintings had many of the 'grass problems'. It was frustrating.

I have learned that all I need to do is SUGGEST a few pieces of grass and the viewer will fill in the rest. It has made a big difference and now I embrace the grass!

Pastels I used for the demo and video
I finally had a break in my schedule and decided to make a new Youtube video.In the video I share some tips for painting better grass....believable and authentic looking grass. The video is 16 minutes long during which I share  a demo of the different ways I paint grass. And I end with a demo of a 7 minute study of 'Lyrical Marsh' , the  5x7 pastel shown at the top of the post.

Please have a look at the video when you get a chance. I would love for you to give it a thumbs up and share it if you found it helpful! Here is the link:


If you are reading this post via email and the link does not work visit my blog directly at www.karenmargulis.com for the link to the video.

The many ways to paint grass....watch on YouTube
I decided to paint a larger version of the study using the same palette on an orange piece of Canson paper.
'Lyrical Marsh 2'         9x12      pastel on Canson           $125

5 comments:

Tina said...

Thanks for the very nice video and your teaching :-)

robertsloan2art said...

So beautiful! Looking forward to the video!

Unknown said...

Thank you Karen for a great lesson! I was just planning on doing a marsh scene today so perfect timing! Love the confident presentation, application and colour/value choices too. Any advice for how you would handle things if your marsh grasses were growing in winter? The 'dirt' would be hidden by the snow. Would love to see you that too some day! In any event this will be REALLY helpful! We all appreciate your help so very much.

Oh yes... I need to add that your supporting cast is beyond adorable... Jennifurr and Kitty Kitty. (Kitty realized that she was NOT the centre of attention towards the end of your demo! Poor thing! :)) Your videographer did a superb job also.

Albertina said...

Thank you Karen for this wonderfull lesson on You Tube, so fantastic how you share so much in detail. It's a real help. One tip. Hold the camera stil, keep a good distance (most of the time was good, the closeups are not really giving something extra)

Karen said...

Thank you all for watching the video and for commenting. I appreciate it!
Albertina, thank you for your advice. I am not a professional videographer so I apologize for any imperfections with the video. Your advice is noted. I will say I had many requests for more close-ups so I was trying to accommodate those requests.