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| 'Sanibel's Treasure' 10x15 pastel ©Karen Margulis available for purchase $155 |
It's been on my mind lately. Maybe because of the post I wrote about getting feedback on our work. Then today a student asked why I don't paint the beach more often. Good question. It used to be my most favorite subject to paint. When I first started with pastels most of my subjects were beach related...shells, shore birds and palm trees. I will still paint them occasionally but I am more interested in landscapes.... marshes, deserts and wildflowers and I am always most drawn to the close ups. Why the shift?
It partly has to do with some feedback I received at a workshop early in my painting journey. During the critique I shared my 'beach' paintings along with the plein air landscapes done at the workshop. The instructor suggested I go to the beach to relax (not paint the beach) and to concentrate on intimate landscapes. I rebelled at first and kept on painting the beach. I was such a beginner with thin skin that the feedback hurt. After all I had worked hard at my beach paintings. I took this critique as negative.
But gradually it became clear to me that my passion was truly for the intimate landscape. It was if this instructor knew it even before I did! It wasn't really negative feedback. I just wasn't ready to understand what the instructor meant.
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| 'Pacific Shores' 5x7 pastel sold |
I don't avoid painting the beach anymore either.
If you'd like to see some of my old beach paintings visit my blog archives here. It is fun to revisit these older paintings!
2 comments:
I love this beach painting. I am going to go look at your archives. Frankly I love all of your paintings. They are beautiful.
Love the beach paintings. Your perspective on thin skins and negative feedback really struck a chord with me. Developing a thick skin along with an open mind is really a necessity for success in art as well as life, isn't it.
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