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| 'Surrounded' 18x24 pastel ©Karen Margulis click here to purchase on Etsy $350 |
From the archives:
It's fun to be the teacher. I get to ask my students to do things they might not otherwise do. I remember that one of my college professors did this. The class was children's literature. He assigned us a project that involved interviewing our family and writing a family history. He admitted it had nothing to do with the course but he knew we would value the results. I cherish the interviews I did with my grandparents and I cherish my book! I am grateful to that professor.So I hoped my class wouldn't be too mad at me for assigning a day to paint large! I was also hopeful that they would value this exercise! I was excited to see everyone come to class with their 18x24 paper attached to big pieces of foamcore. This was going to be fun!
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| 2.5 x 3.5 quick color study |
I have a very talented group of artists and I had faith in them. I knew that they would do well with a larger scale painting. Some had never painted larger than 8x10. I was right. Midway through the class the paintings were taking shape and looking great. And within an hour and a half, most were just about finished. The paintings were awesome and I think I have some big painting converts! Here are some of the tips we discussed:
TIPS FOR PAINTING LARGE
- Planning is the key! Don’t begin painting without a plan: concept and black & white thumbnail, then color choices.
- Choose your palette in advance.
- Do a small color study to test your palette
- HAVE NO FEAR!
- Start with an underpainting to get a head start and use less pastel. I like Mount Vision pastels for large painting block-in.
- START BIG: paint the big shapes first. Keep things big and simple for as long as possible.
- Save the details (decoration) for the end
- MOVE! Allow your arm and whole body to get into the painting. Think Big bold strokes.
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| Permission to stop after about 20 minutes |
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| Evaluating the painting and writing down the changes to make |
I have not addressed the mechanics of painting large pastel paintings.....what kind of support? To mount or not to mount? How to frame? I am compiling information for a future post so I'd love to hear from you large scale pastelists! Please share your tips if you'd like!
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| A hard working and talented group of artists! |
3 comments:
Karen just stopped by to visit your blog. I have been enjoying your pastels for quite some time. Thank you for sharing wonderful tips. Your art is awesome. You paint the things I love. Hope you have a great weekend.
So tempting, once I get my studio-cottage built. I did paint large decades ago, did a series of big cats painted big or life size on 30" x 40" velour boards that I loved. Unfortunately framing and mounting them were something else. Now though, I think I'd stick to something smaller than the mat board I'd put it in.
My largest piece up til now is about 19" x 24" still life . I love painting large (just wish I had more space in my tiny over-cluttered studio!). I use minimal mounting, plexiglass and lightweight backing to keep it safe in frame. Considering to go even larger and see how it`s gonna work.
Thank you for inspiration!
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