Are you Ready for Labor Day Paint-a-thon?

'Summer in Iceland'     7x11          pastel                ©Karen Margulis
available $150

I am sharing this post from my Patreon Page because I'd love for everyone to join us whether you are a Patron or not! 

Here is a challenge worth repeating! I did this challenge myself back in 2014. It was so much fun and I felt so energized and productive by the end of the weekend.  I am making a commitment to do this challenge again this year and thought it would be fun for our weekly challenge.......Introducing the Labor Day Paint-a-thon!Let me explain. 

When I did the challenge back in 2014 I was teaching in my studio so I had 12 easels. For the challenge I set up each easel with a painting. Some were older paintings that needed  a complete overhaul. Some were new paintings on blank paper.

•  I took a pile of reference photos from a recent trip out west and matched the photos to the paper. 
• I then went around the room and wrote down a story word for each painting......a word or two that expressed my concept for the painting. 
• Next I went back around the room with a piece of soft vine charcoal and blacked on the big shapes of each painting. They were now ready for pastel! 
•  I then spent any free time I had over the weekend to work on the paintings. Because I had spent time in the set up and planning stage I was able to complete all 12!

Below is a photo of the 2014 challenge paintings You can see the vine charcoal lines on each painting.   If you look closely you can see my Variation Challenge paintings on the wall behind my easels.

My studio set up for my last Paint-a-thon

This year I only have 5 easels set up in my studio but I think it is still a respectable number of paintings to attempt for a Paint-a-thon!  I am choosing up close and personal wildflowers as my theme. I will select 5 of my older reference photos with my personal challenge to find a way to reinterpret the photos in a new way.  I can't wait and I hope you will join me!

GUIDELINES FOR THE CHALLENGE

• Set up at least 5 paintings to work on. They can either be brand new paper or a failed painting that needs a redo. If you only have one easel tape each painting to a separate piece of foam core so you can be more efficient.
• Choose the reference photos. It is more fun to do a series or pick a theme.
• Do some advance planning by putting a photo to a paper or painting. Come up with a story or concept for each painting and write down your story word so you don't forget.
• Draw the simple shapes for each painting so that all of them are ready to go.
• The key to success is to do this advance planning. This makes more efficient use of your painting time.
• When it is time to paint turn up your favorite music and just let go! Don't overthink these paintings. This challenge is about having fun putting pastel to paper!

If you would like to share your working join us on Patreon we would love to have you! It is a $4 monthly subscription but you get a lot of great content and your support helps me spend time creating content for you! www.patreon.com/karenmargulis