Clouds over the Wetlands

'Afternoon Clouds' 8x10 pastel

I am looking at this painting and trying to remember where I took the reference photo. It is a scene so typical of marshlands. Could it be North Florida or the Georgia Coast? How about the South Carolina Lowcountry or the wetlands in Southern New Jersey? These are a few of the marshes I have visited. I love marshes for the wide open vistas and the feeling of space and being able to see forever! In Georgia we are blessed with wonderful trees but you need to go to a mountaintop to get a wide open view.

Monarch Butterfly Original Pastel Painting

'Butterfly Dreams' 5x7 pastel

I enjoy painting butterflies and dragonflies but I haven't painted any in awhile. I sold a Monarch painting today so I was inspired to paint some new ones. I got some great reference photos of the butterflies at the Lincoln Park Zoo last September so there will be more butterfly paintings!

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Price: $45 USD

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Marsh Miniature Pastel Painting aceo

'Peaceful Morning' 2.5x3.5 pastel

Thank you to all of my wonderful aceo collectors. I have enjoyed painting them and sharing them with you. This week's auctions end tonight so if you would like to start or add to your collection, please visit mt ebay store. This is my personal favorite from this week. Here is the link for a close look.

Cashiers North Carolina Pastel Painting

'Summer in the Mountains' 8x10 pastel

I am so excited about this Summer! I will be taking a road trip with my VIP friends from Georgia to Jackson Hole Wyoming! We will stop whenever and wherever we please but we are planning a special stop in Crested Butte Colorado for the Wildflower Festival. We just need to arrive in Jackson in time to meet our other art friends (The Art Spirits) We are all coming from Georgia to paint the West! I am making plans for a way to document the trip with journals and paintings so stay tuned for details!

Prints Now Available

I am now offering prints and greeting cards of a selection of my favorite paintings. They are available through my website on Fine Art America. I am working on adding a few more but currently I have some of my favorite landscape, wildflower and cat paintings available.

Early Morning on the Farm

'Early Morning on the Farm' 8x10 pastel

Here is one of the paintings I did at the gallery this weekend. It was raining and kind of slow so I managed to do 5 paintings. It was a fun day. I am excited that this summer's trip plans are finally coming together and I will be reporting shortly on the details as well as an announcement of a special project I will be undertaking while on the trip.

Painting Mountains ...Grand Teton National Park

'Summer Glory' 11x14 pastel

We will be painting mountains in tomorrow evening's Pastel Master Class so to get in the mood I decided to paint a scene from Grand Teton National Park. My group of art friends will be going to Jackson Hole this July to paint. We will be staying at Moulton Ranch Cabins and the views from the ranch are spectacular. We should be there at the height of wildflower season so I will be in my glory!

Sunflowers in a Red Vase Oil Painting

'Sunflowers in a Red Vase' 5x7 oil on board

I was waiting for this painting to dry so I could get a better photo. I am trying out different supports and I am finding that I prefer these gessobords to stretched canvas. I don't think I like the weave on the canvas but I have a few others to try this week. It is all a learning process for me but I am enjoying it!

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Price: $95 USD plus $5 USD s/h
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Today's Painting...Marsh Oil

Here is another oil painting from last week. It is 5x7. I am enjoying the oils and have a few more to share next week. I had a fun day today painting at High Country Gallery. Despite the rain, I met a lot of nice folks and even sold three paintings! I love being being able to share the medium of pastels with others!
 

My Website:   www.karenmargulis.com

My Art Blog:   www.kemstudios.blogspot.com

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Price: $95 USD
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North Carolina Landscape

'Summer Softness' 8x10 pastel

I am headed to the mountains to visit my parents and to paint Saturday at High Country Gallery in Blue Ridge Georgia. If you are in the area, please stop in and say hello! Today's painting is the finished demo from last week's landscape class. We painted trees and everyone did a great job on a difficult subject. Next week we will do skies and clouds which I LOVE to paint! I am excited about sharing some great cloud techniques.

Wildflowers of Summer...Announcing my Wildflower Workshop

'Wildflowers of Summer' 11x14 pastel

Announcing a new mini-workshop for June....PAINTING WILDFLOWERS WITH PASTELS. I am offering the workshop on Saturday June 12 OR Sunday June 13th. It is a 4 hour workshop and we will meet from 1-5 pm. The Saturday and Sunday workshops are the same so you can pick the day that works best with your schedule. If you would like more information or wish to register for the workshop. Send me an email.

Golden Light on the Marsh

'Golden Light' 8x10 pastel

This is a smaller version of a marsh scene that I have painted before. I love the last bit of golden light over the marsh as the sun was going down. It was a magical moment. The best part was that as I walked away from the marsh after taking photos, the color in the sky opposite of the marsh was simply amazing. It was definitely a winning sunset that evening!

This Week's Miniature Pastel Paintings

Presenting this week's minis. They measure 2.5 x 3.5 inches each and are a great, affordable way to add to your art collection. They look great matted and framed in standard 5x7 frames. They are available on Ebay auction which ends tonight!

Click here to bid or get a closer look at these paintings

Steps Beach Nantucket Pastel Painting

'Steps Beach' 8x10 pastel

Here is another transformed plein air painting. It was an apple orchard and the dune paths were the dirt roads in between the trees. The sea was the distant line of mountains. I just saw these dunes in the painting and I decided to go with it. I like the results much better than the apple orchard!

Dogwoods and Azaleas SOLD

'Dogwoods and Azaleas' 8x10 pastel

The azaleas are in full bloom in my yard and it is a sea of pink and purple. I love my yard in the Spring! This pastel painting was the demo I did for my class last week. We all painted a Spring flowering tree which I think is the hardest kind of tree to paint.

This week I am finally getting caught up....I think! I will be working hard on getting my online classes in order. It is taking me longer than anticipated but I am still working on putting together a great online experience. Those of you waiting to register...I appreciate your patience!

Kiawah Island Marsh Oil Painting

'View from the Deck' 5x7 oil on board

Here is oil painting #2. I am thinking if I would like to paint a few small ones each week to get more comfortable with the medium. I am basing these first ones on previous pastel paintings because I have already worked out the composition and colors. I can concentrate on mixing paint and my brushwork. NowI need to choose a few more to work on this week.

Mountain Poppy Field Oil Painting 5x7

'Summer Poppies' 5x7 oil on board

Here is one of the two oil paintings I did on Friday. It is 5x7 on gessoboard. I have painted this scene in pastel so it was interesting to translate it with oils. I used my Easy-L easel which I bought last year and had not used much and it worked out perfectly. I can't wait to try some more tommorrow!

A Tiny Nest Painting

'Tiny Treasures' 2.5 x 3.5 inches pastel

This is the smallest nest that I have painted but it looks a lot bigger. I really do love to paint small. This little one is over in my Ebay store on auction this week. I am so excited that I finally had a chance to take out the oil paints that I ordered last December. I managed to paint two 5x7 landscapes. I need to take them outside for pictures but I will have to wait until tomorrow. I am off now to the Opening reception of my friend's gallery in Smyrna. Tomorrow is the open house and they would love for you to stop by if you are in the Atlanta area. Details are in the post below.

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Spring Flowering Tree Painting SOLD

'Spring Dreams' 8x10 pastel

This was my first plein air painting of the season and did it ever give me fits! It is always a challenge to get back into plein air....and my goal for this tree was to eliminate all of the clutter around it...houses, cars, other trees. So I simplified the background. But it was the tree that wouldn't cooperate. I probably brushed it out and sprayed fixative 5 or 6 times until I got a thick textured area of pastel. It is so thick that it almost looks like oil paint in person. Even though it was a challenge, I had a lot of fun experimenting and it was a good way to get back into the swing of paintng outside.

Painting Accepted into SPS Juried Exhibition!

'Blue Skies Ahead' 18x24 pastel

I am excited to share that my painting 'Blue Skies Ahead' was accepted into the Southeastern Pastel Society's 2010 14th International Juried Exhibition. The juror is Duane Wakeham. He will be also teaching a workshop in conjuction with the show and I was fortunate to get a space in the workshop. It's going to be an exciting weekend with the show, workshop and my daughter's high school graduation! Now I need to find a suitable frame for the painting.

Nantucket Island Dunes Pastel Painting 8x10

'Nantucket Dunes' 8x10 pastel

What do you do with your unsuccessful plein air paintings? We had this discussion this weekend and agreed that plein air paintings should be approached with the mindset that they are studies....a chance to gather visual information for future paintings. If you end up with a winner than that is icing on the cake. Well this weekend I ended up with a couple of paintings that I was pleased with and a few duds. On Sunday we painted at an apple orchard and I was really enjoying the experience and thought my paintings weren't too bad....well looking at them today I decided that they were terrible! But I saw something in them that I liked and I could imagine the hills as dunes and the distant blue mountains as the sea. So I wiped them out and painted these dunes. From apple trees and mountains to dunes...now that is a transformation!

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Price: $145 USD plus $5 USD s/h
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Grand Opening of the Smryna Gallery at Nest Home & Garden

I am excited to announce the grand opening of The Smyrna Gallery at Nest Home & Garden in Smyrna Georgia. The Gallery is the creation of three of my artist friends, Deb Cook, Barbara Kincaid and Paula Landry. Here is a quote from them about the gallery

"The Smyrna Gallery is built on the principles of creating quality local art products and providing reliable service. The Gallery is the dream-come-true for three very talented local artists in search of space in Smyrna, Georgia, to display and sell art pieces created by artists in the Smyrna area. Their pool of artists continues to grow providing Smyrna, West Cobb, and Atlanta, with unique, original, art. "

The Gallery features the art of local artist and includes original paintings, pottery, wood, glass and more. If you are in the area we'd love for you to visit. There is an Open House this Saturday April 17th from 10-6.

Queen Annes Lace Original Pastel Painting 9x12

'Mountain Music' 9x12 pastel

I am just coming up for air after working on taxes and financial aid for the last 10 hours! But I wanted to share another painting from last summer that is now available. Tomorrow I am back to the studio and will have some more new paintings to share.

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Price: $150 USD plus $5 USD s/h
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Close-up of an aceo on Pastelmat SOLD

'Colorado Spring' 2.5 x 3.5 pastel

I received my order of Pastelmat paper and I wanted to try it out on something small. I really enjoy working on it! This little painting was done a a dark grey piece. I got a few different colors to try and I will have fun playing with it. This painting is one of this week's aceos available on ebay auction. See the slideshow in the next post for more.

click here to bid on this painting

This Week's Miniature Pastel Paintings

Here is a slideshow of this week's mini pastel paintings (aceos). Each measures 2.5x3.5 inches. They are available by auction in my ebay store. Auction ends Tuesday night. Here is the link if you would like to bid. Click on auction to see the paintings.

Signs of Spring 8x10 pastel

'Signs of Spring' 8x10 pastel

This is one of my favorite Spring paintings. I painted it last spring and it was in High Country Gallery in Blue Ridge. I just brought up some new work and brought this one home. I enjoy painting the colors of Spring! I have a busy week ahead with taxes (yes I procrastinated!) an evening class, and the opening of my friend's new gallery in Smyrna. I will share more about that this week.

Blue Ridge Spring Plein Air Festival ... I won 2nd Place!

I had a wonderful weekend at the Blue Ridge Plein Air Festival. I spent the weekend painting with friends and enjoying the gorgeous weather and scenery. It was a bit chilly in the mornings but warmed up nicely. Perfect weather for plain air. I was feeling rusty the first morning but really enjoyed painting in the afternoon. The painting that won is a scene of trees across the Toccoa River that I call 'Spring Tango'. It was a great weekend and I didn't expect to win anything so that was icing on the cake!

100 Variation Challenge Workshop April 18th

Here are some of my final variations. I still have 5 more to paint but will be taking a break to go plein air painting this weekend. I am having a workshop next Sunday April 18th on how you can start your own personal pastel painting challenge. We will have a fun afternoon playing with pastels and you should leave with about 8 paintings to jumpstart your own challenge. I have a few openings for the workshop so send me an email if you would like more information.
Now I am off to make sure my supplies are packed for the weekend's painting excursion. The weather is supposed to be great and I am excited to get outside and paint!

Pastel Marsh Painting

'Autumn Prelude' 8x10 pastel

I had the most enjoyable day today! I had two wonderful ladies come over from Asheville to take a private introductory lesson to pastels. We spent the day going over the basics of supplies and pastel techniques. They were able to paint 4-5 paintings each, with each painting working on a different concept. They did some wonderful work and it was such a pleasure sharing with them. I look forward to following their progress and will hopefully have them back in the Fall! Thank you!!!

This is one of my demo paintings from today. It is 8x10 on wallis with a Nupastel underpainting.

Summer Poppies Pastel Painting

'Summer Poppies' 5x7 pastel

It sure feels like summer here in Georgia today....almost 90 degrees! It is supposed to cool down a bit but still nice weather for this weekend's plein air paint out in Blue Ridge. I have been painting some minis today. I must be 'in between' painting ideas. I look through all my photos and nothing is calling out to me so the minis are a good break. I am open to my next idea to come!

Welcoming Spring Dogwood Trees

'Welcome Spring' 5x7 pastel

I had to stop spring cleaning for awhile so I could paint a bit of Spring. My cherry trees have bloomed and I had the good intentions of getting outside to paint them so I had to at least paint a little Spring scene from last year's photos.This weekend I will be heading up to Blue Ridge Georgia for the Plein air Paint-out. The weather looks great so far and I am getting my things organized. I am just so rusty with plein air so I really will try to go out and test my set-up tomorrow!

Daisy Miniature Pastel Painting 2.5 x 3.5 sold

I have painted some new aceo or mini pastel paintings and they are on auction in my ebay store....ending tomorrow! This little daisy painting was done after a plein air study I did a few years ago. I always liked it and it was fun doing a miniature version. You can bid on the painting here. I have 10 minis this week so be sure to take a look.

Daybreak Marsh Painting

'Daybreak' 8x10 pastel

I am working on spring cleaning and will be tackling the studio next. There are two rooms in my studio area and one of them isn't heated so it gets neglected in the winter and ends up being a big storage area. I want to put in some shelves and get the stuff organized! I wish you all a very Happy Easter!

Daisy Pastel Painting 8x10

'Summer Bouquet' 8x10 pastel

Today's painting is a smaller version of my 18x24 daisy painting. I really liked painting this little patch of summer. Today I had a fun experience as the guest artist at a local elementary school. My friend Paula is the art teacher and invited me to share a bit about pastels with the students. I had five classes fom kindergarten to 5th grade and I painted 5 different beach scenes! I had the children help me decide what elements to put in the paintings so it was a fun challenge. I think they enjoyed it and I sure do have a lot of respect for the teachers. That is hard work! Thank you Paula!

New Pastels and Paper!

'Evening Falls' 5x7 pastel

What a fun day today. My Dakota Pastel order arrived just as I was shopping in my own pastel stash. Every once in awhile I give my box a good cleaning and replace some pastels with some of my extras I have stored. That is always fun to discover what I have hidden. Today was a double because I got some new pastels and papers. I got some Diane Townsend metalics and purples. I couldn't resist the purples! I also got some Pastelmat paper which I haven't tried yet. So which to try first...the paper or the pastels? How about both! The painting I did above is on black pastelmat with some of the metallic pastels. I like the pastelmat but of course need to try some more!