Back from Vermont with a Workshop Review

'Morning Walk'         10x8         pastel          ©Karen Margulis
available $150

It was a workshop of firsts. My first visit to the state of Vermont and a first time trying a studio/ plein air hybrid workshop. I was honored to have the opportunity to work with an amazing group of artists for four days. I also spent a wonderful time with my hosts who shared so much of their beautiful part of the country.

We were planning to have two plein air days sandwiched between two studio days. The weather didn't exactly cooperate but we were fortunate to have one glorious plein air day painting at the Trapp Family Lodge.  Read an excerpt of a write up about the workshop below:

One of my demos from the studio day

 "The Central Vermont VPS Hub is bursting with colorful plein air exuberance after a fabulous workshop with Master Pastelist Karen Margulis. If you’ve never seen Karen’s popular Youtube demo's, website blogs or Patreon videos you might want to check them out. Karen is arguably the most generous and effective pastel teacher’s you can find.

16 pastel artists from around New England (dominated by  12, VPS members) joined the four-day workshop in Central Vermont at the Hyde Park Technology Center. All participants agreed it was a wonderful venue and we all praised the organizers of the event- Diane Szlachetka and Patty Braun for their hard work! Thank you!

After the first full day of instruction including two demos’,  painting sessions and powerful tips to ignite our excitement and embrace the joys of plein air painting, we ventured out on glorious day two to the Trapp Family Lodge gardens in Stowe. During the day Karen offered ongoing one- on- one visits to our easels as we joyfully painted poppies, peonies, birch trees and spectacular mountain vistas of the Worcester Range. Although we all agreed the sun and elements surrounding plein air artists can be overwhelming, Karen encouraged us to focus on more simple compositions to free us up to explore color and value while painting more quickly and impressionistically. It worked—for many and certainly stretched our comfort zone as well. After an amazing day together in the gardens, we gathered at the Trapp Bierhall for dinner to rehydrate! "

My afternoon demo at the Trapp Family Lodge

Since we were expecting a 70% chance of rain for day 3 and 4 we decided to stay indoors. It was a good choice because it did indeed start raining in the morning. We had a huge and comfortable studio space and I reached into my bag of tricks to share ways we could take out plein air experiences from the day before and use them in the studio.

The final day of the workshop was spent on painting skies and clouds and learning strategies for finishing a painting. The four days flew by and we had all become friends. I can't say enough about this wonderful group. Not only were they talented and hard working but they were quick to share with one another. I know I learned much from them!

I am only home for another day before I head to Provence for a two week adventure with friends. I really need to pack but I had to get to my easel and paint while I am still filled with inspiration from Vermont. Todays painting is 10x8 on gray sanded paper (Yi Cai from Chine which I got at the last IAPS convention) It is from a photo I took on a morning walk of my last day in Vermont.