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Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Back From the Texas Hill Country: Workshop Report


'April Flowers'        9x12     plein air pastel        ©Karen Margulis
available $165

Every time I visit this area of the country I find more to love. It is wildflower heaven and it begs to be painted. Although I am told to come back in August and I might change my mind! But Spring in the Texas Hill Country is a great place for a plein air workshop.

This year I had a wonderful group of 14 artists. They were an organized and prepared group ready to learn! A few had plein air experience but most didn't have much. I don't think I would have guessed it if they had not told me! Everyone took to painting outside like a pro! 



We were fortunate to have decent weather. It was quite warm and windy but at least we didn't have rain! The bluebonnets were another story. Sadly they were early this year and were not as plentiful as in years past. There were enough around to study them and add them into a painting as I did in my demo painting above.  Below is a photo of some bluebonnets I saw on my scouting drive before the workshop.


My gear and demo painting. I had to take my pastel box off the tripod after the demo so it wouldn't blow over!

I was so impressed with this group! Even the beginners had great plein air set ups. It really made set up and clean up easier and more manageable!


This is a fun set up! I felt like I was stepping into his office when I came to see his work! 

Painting in the bluebonnets!
 We spent three days exploring ways to make plein air simple and fun. I will share more in the coming days!

My demo paintings


2 comments:

Unknown said...

Haha!I love it- my "office" made the blog! You were a joy Karen! I'm anxious to implement all the valuable information you brought to us. I'm looking forward to taking another workshop from you in the future!

Esther Jones said...

This was the first visual art class of any kind that I had ever taken... Karen, you were so careful to avoid scaring me off, and I appreciate that. There was almost nothing in the workshop that I hadn't heard before, but it was amazing to see it in action and then try it myself. I would recommend this workshop to any plein air beginners... Karen is a masterful teacher.
I went home and immediately started looking for better travel arrangements for my pan pastels so I can paint plein air more often.