A Surprise Pastel Gift From Russia

'Glorious Weeds'         8x10        pastel       ©Karen Margulis
available $150

 It was quite a lovely surprise. A Facebook friend wrote to me recently wanting to share some pastels his family brought from Russia. He knew I had blogged about the Russian pastels I liked to use for grasses. He had two boxes and wanted to share one with me! I was so excited to get the package. What could be better than mystery pastels!

My new pastels from Russia

 These pastels are definitely a mystery. I wonder what the box says? I had to try them out and today's painting gave me the perfect opportunity. I was expecting them to be very hard like the other Russian pastels sent to me by my friend in Finland. But these pastels were actually a bit creamy. They were still great for painting my grasses. Look at the close up below for the evidence!

close up detail of the grasses

Tips for Painting Grasses

• Build up to the delicate grass marks. Start with the dirt....big simple shapes of color
• Create broken lines rather than heavy lines for the grass blades...think Lyrical Lines 
• Avoid the trap of trying to paint every bland of grass. Choose to put in a few well placed bladed of grass. 
• Vary colors and direction of marks. Variation is the key
• Vary the pressure of your marks...push and release for a natural looking piece of grass
• Round pastels make excellent grass. Use the hard edge and draw or roll the pastel

Painting note:  Uart 500 with a wet pastel underpainting. Inspired by my favorite park in Chicago.

Thank you to my dear friend for sending these pastels to me. I will certainly have fun with them and I appreciate your generosity!