Friday Fun: Embrace Paper that you Hate

'Discovering the Magic'       9x12      pastel       ©Karen Margulis
available $145

Hate is a strong word. I try not to use it. Maybe I should say strongly dislike but when you are painting on a paper that you struggle with it is easy to say the 'H' word! I am often asked about my pastel paper preferences....my likes and dislikes. I try to be diplomatic with my answer because everyone has their own preference. If I hear a student complain about a paper brand I usually try to encourage them to find a way to make the paper work....try another pastel type for example. 

But I am going to share a deep dark secret......I do have a paper that I strongly dislike. I today I thought it would be fun to confront my aversion and make it work. And in the end I discovered something new.....I don't really dislike the paper at all!

my reference photo

Usually when we don't like the way a paper is performing it is because we just don't have enough experience working with it. Remember the first time you tried your favorite paper? Was it love at first mark? Did it take some time to discover the idiosyncrasies of the paper? Often we give up on a paper before we discover what works best with it.

For today's Friday Fun painting I decided to try a piece of my nemesis.....Art Spectrum Colourfix. It has not been a favorite of mine and so I haven't bought any in years. I was recently given some paper and pastels (more on this soon) and there was a pack of Colourfix in the pile.  It was time to revisit this paper. Scroll down to see the progress on this light blue piece of colourfix 9x12.

Now it is your turn. Do yo have a paper that you strongly dislike? Maybe you have a piece or two hidden away somewhere. I challenge you to have some fun and try painting it this weekend. You might be pleasantly surprised as I was. Colourfix wasn't as challenging as I remembered it.

*****The response to my question about signing your work has been fantastic. I will need more time to compile all of your answers. Thank you so much for your response!

Friday Fun: Painting on Black

'Outside My Window'         11x6       pastel        ©Karen Margulis
available $75

There is something magical about painting on black paper. I don't do it often but when I do I am always pleasantly surprised at how exciting it is. Black is bold. It is dramatic. It allows colors to pop. There is nothing shy about black paper and it can rub off on you. It can make you feel bold, exciting and dramatic!

Don't be shy! Take out a piece of black paper or tone a piece with black pigment of any kind. (more on this tomorrow) Choose something simple and colorful and have some fun.

I used a piece of the new Uart Dark paper. It was introduced at the recent IAPS convention and should be available this fall!  I took some progress photos to show my approach to working on black. Note that I didn't have to block in darks because they were already there! I did use some Terry Ludwig eggplant to restore some of the darkest accents.

closeup

Below is a chart I put together showing a variety of black surfaces available. 

A variety of black papers for pastel painting 

Friday Fun....Let's Break the Rules!

'All Paths Lead to the Sea'             11x14         pastel         ©Karen Margulis
available $195

OK. So it's not really a rule. It's more like a recommendation. It is also a personal preference. But I have always been told NOT to do it. Blending pastels can be a polarizing issue. Should we blend or should we keep our fingers and tools away from the pastels? 

The first workshop I ever took was with Albert Handell. I know...you could say I was baptized by fire.  I was very new to pastel and I will never forget Albert admonishing us..."Touch it Not!"  I learned to let the pastels do the blending and never blend with my fingers or tools.  Over the years I've relaxed and will blend the first layer and occasional a sky or use a finger to soften an edge. But I still never do much more than that.  

It was time to try breaking my own self imposed rule and blend away! By the way there are some very good reasons to avoid too much blending and I will address them in another post. But this weekend let's have some fun and blend our pastels!

Some blending tools...pipe insulation foam, foamcore, viva paper towel, rag

 Today's painting involved a lot of blending. I used my palm and some tools to blend. I began by blending the first layer and softly blended each subsequent layer. I was trying to get a soft and dreamy look to my painting. In tomorrow's post I will show you the tools in more detail. Below you can see the progress shots.

Blocking in the first layer on Canson Mi-Teintes moonstone

 I decided to work on Canson Mi-Teintes paper in the Moonstone color. I knew the unsanded paper would be easier on my fingers than sanded paper. I blocked in the painting with soft pastels (Terry Ludwig) The used a piece of pipe insulation foam to blend in the first layer.

Nicely blended

Next I worked on the sky. I blended it several times to get the sky clam and the clouds wispy.

Start with the sky

As the painting developed I added layers of gold and green rubbing in each layer until I got to the finishing marks. I couldn't resist adding a few grass marks on top of the blended areas. I am going to try another painting that I leave completely blended and see how I like it. It's all about trying new things and having fun!

Almost there!

Finished....then made corrections to the foreground grasses

YOUR TURN!  If you are not usually much of a blender you have permission this weekend to break your rule and blend away!  If you do a lot of blending try NOT blending to see what happens. :)