What I Learned From this Week's Adventure

'Mountain Sunrise'         5x7        plein air pastel         ©Karen Margulis
available $95

It is turn around time. I am back from the snow covered mountains and packing for my Caribbean Art Cruise. I am trading snow boots for flip-flops, sweaters for beach cover-ups. One thing I am not trading is my pastel box! I may add a few more turquoises and I will bring my larger Heilman sketchbox but I will never go anywhere without one or the other.

It's one of the things I learned from my trip to Colorado. I almost didn't bring my pastels and if I didn't throw the box in at the last minute I would have really missed some great opportunities to paint. And since we never know what may come our way it is best to be prepared! Here are a few other things I learned.....

The many moods of the mountain

• It's OK to go without plans. I had no idea what we would do other than relax. I always have a plan when I travel so it felt odd not to know what restaurants I wanted to try or what activities we would do. It all worked out and we had great fun horseback riding and getting massages. 
• Be Open. Having no plans made it easy to accept an invitation for coffee from a Facebook friend. Meeting Becky and then going out painting was a highlight of my trip.
• Take time to just be. And observe. I really looked at the mountains and the trees. I studied them. I painted them in my mind. I observed them in different lighting and conditions. I can't wait to paint them now.
• I discovered that I LOVE keeping a sketchbook. I couldn't get enough if it. I even dreamed about what I would sketch next. I'll share my sketchbook in tomorrow's post.

My compact set-up is easy to throw in a carry-on bag. No excuses!

'Mountain Town'       5x7        $95