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| 'Treasures of the Marsh' 7.5x5.5 pastel ©Karen Margulis available $125 |
I used to pick the first piece of paper from my pile. I didn't give it much thought. After all paper is paper. Right? But I learned that I was not giving my paintings a fair chance. I discovered the paper choice does make a difference in the overall look and feel of a painting. Pastel application is different on textured papers versus smoother papers. Colors will look different on various colored papers. The more I experimented and explored different papers and colors the more I started to understand the differences and I was able to make more intuitive choices.
I know this now but it still hit home when I was painting these cattails for my Patreon Paint Along videos this month. In the Paint Along we explored adding texture to our surface. The texture was fun to work with but a challenge at times! When I finished the painting and editing the video I started to wonder 'what if' I tried the same painting on just regular sanded paper with no added texture?
I took out a scrap of sanded Ming Art paper and painted the cattails again. This time the pastel went on like a hot knife through butter! It was such a different feeling to the pastel application and of course the resulting painting had a different look and feel. I found I actually enjoyed painting them both but I also added to my knowledge of how pastel looks on various papers.
TIP: The more you explore and experiment with various papers and colors the more knowledge you accumulate. This allows you to make more informed and intuitive paper choices for each painting. Paper choice does matter
Join us on Patreon to paint along! www.patreon.com/karenmargulis
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| 10x8 pastel on textured board |
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| Making a video! |
3 comments:
In examining both paintings, I find I like the various textures of each painting vs. the other painting. For example, I like the texture of the body of the cattails on the piece where you added the texture. The texture adds to the brown areas more effectively (in my opinion), but the fuzzy tufts on the sanded paper version are far more exciting to me. Both versions have merit. Thanks for sharing two different versions on various textured surfaces!
Hi Karen--Could you add the type of paper used to the "titles" of your photos? You could also put it in the blog post if that's easier.
I'm struggling with sanded vs unsanded paper & I am hugely interested in your choices & suggestions for each. Your blog is awesome & so is your Patreon page.
MaryB
Thanks Mary!!
I will try to do a better job at noting what paper I used!! Thanks for the reminder!
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