The Evolution of a Painting

'Dream Fields'           6x6            pastel            ©Karen Margulis
sold

 Big things come in small packages.  I came back from my cruise with 50 mini pastel paintings. That is a lot of painting time and even though they are tiny they count towards my miles of canvas.  But I have a plan for them. Big plans!

They will be the seeds of many future paintings. 

When I paint these minis while on a trip I do both plein air studies (post coming) and also paint from small photos that I bring along. The photos are small contact sheet size images from my files. I always take a selection of scenes that inspire me from past trips....marshes, southwestern landscapes, birds and flowers. The small photos allow me to keep the paintings simple.

These simple studies will now be used as reference material for bigger paintings.  I will not use the original photos again.  Today's 6x6 painting evolved from the small study below. I liked the color palette of the mini but wanted to do a square format on black paper.  Because I don't have the original reference photo to refer to I am free to interpret the scene any way I want to.

'Dreamfields Study'         2.5 x 3.5        pastel   sold

Here is another 6x6 painting that evolved from one of my minis.  The possibilities for paintings are endless. I can change formats, color schemes, move elements around even try the scene in another medium ...which will be the next step in the evolution of these paintings. I just bought some square canvases and can't wait to take out my acrylics and see what evolves!

'Summer Peace'            6x6          pastel
click here to purchase $45

'Summer Peace Study'        2.5 x 3.5        pastel  buy here $15

So just remember....Minis have mileage!  Stay tuned for the acrylics coming soon!