Add Some Punch to Green

'Beautiful Dreams'        5x7       pastel         ©Karen Margulis
available $75

 The Spring blooms have faded leaving behind a very green landscape. That's how it is in the land of green....the southeastern US. I do enjoy the wonderful variation in the greens we see here but in a painting it can be overwhelmingly....GREEN.  There are ways to tame the green and make it more interesting and believable in a painting. I will be sharing some of my favorite tips with you soon but here is a teaser tip....

Add some punch to your greens!

Terry Ludwig 90 piece set of green, Diane Townsend soft form greens.

I wanted to try my new set of Diane Townsend soft form greens so I found one of my Smoky Mountain summer photos. It was very green. Perfect for my little painting. I also took out my Terry Ludwig 90 piece green set. That should be enough green!

I definitely had enough greens. I had a very analogous painting of blue green and green and yellow green. It was OK but it was missing something. It was just too much green. I decided to look at the analogous color wheel for inspiration. The answer was red-violet. That would be the color to use to add the punch I was looking for.

• I used some dark red violet in the grass and the dark areas of the trees.
• I used a light veil of mauve (lighter red violet) in the mountain haze.
• I used some touches of pure red violet and a very pale pink for some summer wildflowers.

That was better!  It works every time. Add a little punch to spice up you greens! I am thinking of a little punch bowl filled with some delicious pink-purple punch. That's a visual I can remember!

ANNOUNCEMENT:

I have added a workshop to my 2017 schedule! I will be co teaching a plein air workshop with Marsha Savage in Blue Ridge Georgia this Labor Day weekend. Here is a little blurb about the workshop from Marsha's website:

This will be the third time Karen Margulis and I will be teaching a workshop together! Come join us this September. Karen and I will be teaming up to teach a 3 day plein air workshop in Blue Ridge Georgia. I have a wonderful rustic cabin on the river where we will paint, but we will also paint in some other wonderful spots....we know the secret spots!

Imagine driving  on peaceful country road. It winds it's way slowly alongside the river. You can smell the freshly mown hay and hear the gentle sounds of the river. As you round each bend the views get better. Soon you arrive. It is time to get settled in and take a deep breath of the sweet country air.

Imagine staying in this spot for three days. Painting. Learning. Laughing. Imagine being surrounded by other passionate artists. Artists of all abilities. Artists who just want to become better artists and who share the same passions as you.

This is a plein air workshop on Labor Day Weekend, Fri., Sat. & Sun., Sept. 1, 2, & 3. It is suggested if you are traveling from outside this area, you would want to arrange to stay somewhere close to Blue Ridge, GA arriving on Thurs., Aug. 31, and leaving on Mon., Sept. 4. And, we like to have the students over for a meet and greet that evening before. We can give you ideas or point you in the direction of accommodations.

Click here for more information and to register:https://marshasavage.com/workshop/11681/team-teaching-by-karen-margulis-and-marsha-savage