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| 'All Is Quiet in the Meadow' 11x14 pastel ©Karen Margulis painting is available $165 sold |
I want my marks to dance. I don't want them to be tight. I don't want them to be perfect. I want them to be expressive. I need to put the right color and value in the right place but I want each mark to look fresh. Planning is important. Knowing what you want to say and how you will say it helps. A plan gives you the freedom to explore your mark-making. So make a plan.
Then what? I have an idea for you to try. Paint on a larger piece of paper. Bigger paper means the chance for bigger marks. Bigger paper gives you freedom to move. Bigger paper lets you put your whole arm and body into your marks. It allows you to dance with your painting!
When I paint on a bigger surface I find my marks begin to unfold and loosen up. A flower on a small piece of paper may be a controlled dot. On a larger paper it becomes a bold mark.
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| 'The Beach Roses are Calling' 8x10 pastel $145 |
In my pastel class today we explored mark making with pastels. My demo painting is at the top. It is 11x14. It is roughly based on the 8x10 painting above. I found I had more freedom with my marks in the larger painting. I had more room to be expressive. Now I want to try this scene even larger!
TRY IT: Paint something you have done before but this time make it at least twice as large. If you paint large already....got even larger. When I want to play with large paintings but want to conserve my sanded paper I will use Canson.
If you already paint large try to paint smaller but be conscious of your marks. How large can you make your marks on a smaller piece of paper. Let your marks dance!
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| My students got a treat today! Thank you Terry Ludwig for the very special heart pastels for my class! |
THANK YOU!!! I want to thank everyone who watched my first video blog yesterday. I appreciate the support. Your comments were wonderful and I am encouraged to make the next episode. I am going to try for one vlog each week to start. I will share the next one here.
If you haven't seen the video here is the link.https://youtu.be/m8VRQm-jzNE Please subscribe to my YouTube channel so you won't miss an new video!
7 comments:
AWESOME works, and POST!!!!
I loved your video blog and am sooo looking forward to more. you are really inspiring.. thanks!!
I recently painted a snow scene that I was very happy with and would love to make it larger...the original is 8x8. I often get concerned that I won't find that same magic if I do it again. Any tips for me. Thanks , Karen
These are so cool! Great article. It's true, totally true. Regardless of subject too.
Inspiring as usual Karen. I have learned so much with you. Thank you!
Thanks for the support and comments! Sandi....I just did a large painting so I will be sharing some tips on painting larger this week!!!
I always enjoy your wildflower paintings!!! This one reminds me of a place in Northern California that had the most incredible abundance of different wildflowers! Maybe this week I'll try to paint my own wildflowers. Thanks for your inspiration!
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