Painting Lavender on Canson Paper

'Summer days in Provence'          9x12          pastel         ©Karen Margulis
available $165

I am running low on paper. I am back home in the studio and ready to paint but my paper supply is limited. My go to paper is Uart and somehow I only have one piece left. So I decided today to use some of the other papers I have on hand. I pulled out a pad of Canson Mi-Teintes paper and found a piece of my favorite Canson color....Moonstone.

I actually love to paint on Canson Mi-Teintes paper and I have blogged a lot about it. On my Patreon page we are exploring pastel supplies this month and Canson MT is the paper of the week. I decided to do a step by step demo of this painting for Patreon. You can see the entire demo there www.patreon.com/karenmargulis  Here is a sneak peek song with some Canson tips:

The pastels I used for the demo

Here is the start of the painting on Canson Mi-Teintes moonstone

TIPS FOR WORKING ON CANSON MI-TEINTES PAPER

• Try the smooth side. The correct side is the bumpy side but if you don't like the regular text turn the paper over and work on the smooth side. I always work on the smooth side.
• Use a light touch. Be sure you can still see the paper or the previous layer. This way you know you have a light enough touch.
• Start with harder pastels so you don't fill the tooth of the paper too quickly but do use some softer pastels on the final layers.
• Consider using workable fixative during the painting process to build more layers.
• Some artists like to use sand paper to lightly rough up the paper before painting.
• Make use of the colored papers by choosing a color that you can allow to show through. This way you can plan on using less pastel layers in your painting. ( I love how Moonstone unifies a painting. I don't have to cover it all up!)
• Canson also comes in a mounted board. This board only allows you to use the bumpy textured side. 
• Canson Mi-Teintes doesn't do well with wet underpinnings. Some artists have success with light alcohol. I don't use it for wet underpaintings. You can get Canson Touch which is a sanded version of the paper. 

A Tip for Dealing with The Big Empty

'Beyond the Meadow'         9x12         pastel       ©Karen Margulis
available $155

It was a large expanse of mostly nothing. Sure there were flowers but they were so thick that they really weren't very interesting. It reminded me of a large meadow filled with both but grass. I call it THE BIG EMPTY.....that large expanse of nothing important that occurs often in a landscape foreground to mid ground. How we deal with The Big Empty can make or break the painting.

The question we must consider is how we will have the viewer move from the foreground into the painting and through the big empty? Our focus may be in the distance but we need to create a visual pathway to transport our viewers to this focus. Have a look at the reference photo for today's painting. (below)

my reference photo

The horizon was just about dividing the scene in half so I decided to raise the horizon to put more emphasis on the buildings and less on the sky. That left me with another problem.

The Big Empty!  I now had to deal with the large expanse of flowers that were not really very interesting in my photo. They were arranged in horizontal bands and if I painted them this way they would have created a barrier for entry into the painting. A fence of yellow flowers!

To deal with the Big Empty I created a SUGGESTED PATHWAY of dark that meandered under the flowers and grasses. This dark zig zag mass along with an arrangement of flowers to provide contrast would subtly lead the viewer through the meadow to the buildings in the distance.

TIP: Create visual pathways with areas of contrast to lead your viewer through the empty spaces.

My value thumbnail with the suggested pathway of dark

SEE MUCH MORE ON PATREON!

If you enjoyed this tip you will find an expanded exploration of composition and tips for leading the viewer through your paintings. This week there is a video demo of this painting as well as a new step by step photo demo and a bonus video on spices. I would love your support so I can continue to provide helpful content! www.patreon.com/karenmargulis

a quick color study 2.5 x 3.5 inches

New Sunday Studio Video Demo: Painting a Marsh

'Adventure Awaits'             11x14         pastel         ©Karen Margulis
available $175

I'm back to my happy place! Painting every day without anywhere to go or to be. I will be home for the next few weeks and making the most of studio time. Today I had some time to do a new Facebook Live demo. I have uploaded the video to my Youtube channel so if you missed it live you can now watch it on You tube. Here is the link: 

https://youtu.be/HtIf0wxNkEU

In the video I paint one of my favorite marsh scenes from the South Carolina Lowcountry. I share tips for starting a painting using extremes and using a value thumbnail. I didn't add the finishing touches on the video but the photo at the top of the page shows the finish. Have a look at the photo below which is where I stopped. Can you see what I did to finish the painting?

Below are some photos of the painting in progress and my palette of pastels. You can see that I made a test paper of my color choices to see how I liked them. It saves me much aggravation and prevents mud by choosing colors in advance!

This photo shows the value thumbnail that I used to start the painting

Autumn Tree Demo on Uart Dark Paper

'Three Friends'           12x9          pastel on Uart Dark        ©Karen Margulis
available $145

When I saw the photo I knew just what I needed. I wanted to capture the crisp brilliance of the trees on a sunny Fall day. I wanted to colors of the foliage and the light on the tree trunks to come alive. I considered my options. I could do a bold underpainting blocking in the reds and greens and brilliant blue. I could do some kind of value underpainting establishing a roadmap of values. I could work on white paper and do a colorful and drippy watercolor underpainting. All of these options would be good but I had another idea.

These trees called out for black paper! I pulled out a piece of Uart Dark 800 grade. The dark charcoal tone of this paper would really help the colors come alive.

My Reference photo 

I started the painting with a plan. I did a small value thumbnail and selected the pastels I wanted for the painting. I drew my trees with a dark blue Nupastel which was visible on the Uart dark paper.

All set up and ready to paint!

My goal was to keep the foliage masses as simple as possible for as long as I could. It was such a busy scene and I really wanted to capture the kaleidoscope of colors.  I built the layers with wide strokes gradually changing to paint the individual leaves with smaller blocky strokes. It was fun to watch the painting progress and change with each layer added.

Building the color in the tree trunks...close up photo

As I painted I took photos of each change or layer. The entire step by step demo can be seen on my Patreon page. If you haven't has a chance to check out my page now is a good time! Unlimited access to my step by step demos and exclusive videos and exercises are available for a pledge of $4 a month. 
You can cancel at any time if you decide it isn't for you! www.patreon.com/karenmargulis

New Video Demo on Uart Dark Paper!

'Autumn Grace'            9x12         pastel        ©Karen Margulis
sold

I've been doing some house painting on the weekends. It hasn't left me with time to do a Sunday Studio Live demo. This week we made time! I decided to do my demo painting on the new Uart Dark paper since I have been playing with it all week. It was perfect for an autumn landscape!  The painting went through a transformation after the demo and I will share the finish in this post. You can see the entire demo on my Youtube channel. Here is the link:

Watch the video here

The planning board

Demos are interesting. I am trying to talk about what I am thinking. Sometimes I can't keep up with myself! And sometimes a painting needs me to step back and look at it....something I don't do during a demo especially one being filmed!  So as promised I took some time to evaluate the painting and made some changes. Below I will explain what I did to finish.

The demo where I left it at the end of the video

• The painting had potential but on review I felt that it had too much going on. The bright yellow tree competed with the busy foreground patches and grasses. Sometimes it isn't what you put in but what you take away! So I simplified the foreground with some big bold strokes and a little workable fixative.

Simplified foreground

• I needed to find a way to lead the viewer through the grass and shrubs to the big yellow tree. I had another photo of this location that showed a creek. That's what I wanted! A simple ribbon of blue water as a leading line. I put in some blue strokes and continued to add grass and shrubs forcing myself to keep it simple.
• I refined the trees with some brighter yellows and a few linear marks for tree trunks. Finished!

That was a lot of fun. I hope you enjoyed the video and the finish. Perhaps you would like to try a similar landscape?  I have exciting news coming tomorrow. Here is a sneak peak.....I have a new page on patreon.com which will allow me to share more in depth instruction, videos, handouts and more. Check it out at www.patreon.com/karenmargulis . I will be adding a step by step demo and much more to this page.

Clouds Over Ireland Pastel Demo

'Enchantment'          8x10             pastel          ©Karen Margulis
available $145

I just had to paint them! I was scrolling through my photos from Ireland looking for something to paint for my travelog posts. The clouds stopped me in my tracks. So I pulled out a prepared piece of Multimedia Artboard and painted them. The travelog will resume tomorrow but today I'd like to share the making of today's painting. Enjoy the step by step photos and be sure to scroll all the way to the end for a special treat.

Step one: choose the paper or support

 Step One: I selected a board I had already prepared with an orange toned texture. I made the texture using clear gesso tinted with orange liquid acrylic. I applied this mixture with a brush on an 8x10 piece of Multimedia Artboard. I wanted the sky and clouds to have a random and exciting texture.

Step 2: Block in the big shapes

Step 2:  I drew the big shapes of the land and clouds with orange Nupastel. Next I blocked in these big shapes with one layer of color. I chose colors to create a value map of darks and lights. I needed to rub in this first layer to fill in the grooves of the textured surface. I let some of the orange tone peek through.

Step 3: Paint the ground

Step 3:  The painting was going to be about the dramatic light filled clouds so I wanted to keep the ground simple. I decided to paint it first so that I could use some of the colors both in the ground and the sky.  I kept the elements on the ground simple. I only suggested the trees and grasses.

colors in my clouds...yellow, green, orange, violet

Step 4: Leaving the ground I went to work on the clouds. The first thing I did was create the shadows or darker areas in the clouds. Instead of using gray pastels I created my own blend of gray using  greens, yellows, peaches and violets. Some of these pastels were used in the ground creating a visual connection between earth and sky.

Adding cloud lights and blue to the sky

Step 5: I began to add the lighter values in the clouds. I used very light value peach and yellow instead of white. I also reinforced the blues in the sky keeping in mind the transition of blue from dark and cool to light and warm.

Step 6:  As I added blue to the sky I decided to take out my artistic license and add some blue to the ground. Why not have a wee stream flowing through the meadow?

Finished? Not quite.

Step 7: I continued to build up the clouds. I rubbed layers in with my pinky finger and added more pastel. The texture is so strong that it is visible even when the pastel is pushed into the grooves. To build the layers I use the same yellow, peach, violet and green pastels.  I save the lightest light (almost but not quite white) for the brightest clouds. Reinforced the blue of the sky and painted into the clouds to define them.

click to enlarge and see the texture

The final painting with some light on the little sheep in the meadow

Step 8:  I thought I was finished and took photos. When I looked at the photos I decided that the clouds needed further definition. I used the lightest light pastel to add some highlights to some of the clouds. I pushed this pastel into the board with a shouting mark! I enjoyed painting this scene!

If you would like more details and information on painting clouds and skies  consider trying my PDF booklet on Painting beautiful skies and clouds. For this week only I am offering 10% savings on all PDF demos. Use coupon code DEMO10 at checkout or follow this link for the coupon.

Click here to see all of the PDF demos.

New Video Demo: The Magic of Painting on Black

'A Beautiful Secret'          11x14           pastel          ©Karen Margulis
available $185

There is a story behind this painting. I shared it on my Facebook Live video Sunday afternoon and I will share it again in another blog post because it makes me smile! I had so much fun painting this live on Facebook. It is not a perfect video. We had some technical difficulties. But the information is there and if you'd like to see this painting develop you can see the video on my YouTube channel.

Link to the demo on YouTube:

 https://youtu.be/T15DgjmiTPk

The painting began with a plan. I changed the format of the photo and chose to do a landscape orientation. I did a black and white thumbnail to work out the composition.

My reference photo and my black and white thumbnail

I was interested in capturing the drama of the dark trees behind the flowers so I decided to do a black underpainting. I used an Art Graf carbon disc pigment black washed with water. I love these Art Graf squares!

An underpainting on Uart paper with Art Graf Carbon Disc wash

I got as far as the photo below in the video demo. I stopped at this point because the painting needed some thinking time before I could add the final touches.  It is very hard to explain how I make these final marks. I find I get lost in this part of a wildflower painting and I simply have to let go and let my hand take over. It is a lot of adding detail and taking some away....a lot of back and forth!

In an upcoming live demo I will JUST do a finish to a painting so that you can see that part of the painting process.  I hope you enjoy the demo!

The demo as I finished the live demo.More work needed.

The aftermath!

closeup

New Sunday Studio Demo: Blending and the Beach

'Sunday Afternoon at the Beach'       9x12      pastel       ©Karen Margulis
available $155

 To blend or not to blend? Since I have been pondering this question this weekend it is only fitting that my Sunday Studio demo address this question. In my informal Facebook Live video I share my thoughts on blending and how you can be a more effective blender.

I demonstrate a beach scene to share some of the ways I use blending in my paintings. I blend sparingly and always with careful thought. Watch the video to learn more and then come on back to read about how I finished the demo painting.

Click this link to watch the video on my YouTube channel

I didn't add the finishing touches to the painting in the video. I like to stop BEFORE I think I am finished so I can make the finishing marks with careful thought.  Below you can see where I stopped on the painting along with my commentary on the finish.

Demo board with my reference photo and color study.

The pastels I used for the demo. Terry Ludwigs (McKinley Landscape set) Diane Townsend Mood for Green and misc. hard pastels for the grasses.

my color study. 4x6

The painting as I left it in the video

• I refined the sky. I blended it more and added more defined cloud shapes.The finishing mark was the pop of pale turquoise near the horizon leading into the ground.

• I refined and separated the distant bushes. I add a light cool green to them to push them back into the distance.

• I refined the grass clumps by adding a rust color. I painted a few pieces of grass in the foreground clumps. I kept the grasses in the distance loose.

• I refined the sandy path and added a few more shells

• I added a touch of blue in the distance to suggest the sea.

I hope you have enjoyed the video demo. I will be out of town for a couple of weeks but would love your thoughts on what you would like to see next!

New Sunday Studio Video...Painting a Wildflower Meadow

'Among the Thistles'           12x24          pastel         ©Karen Margulis
available $300

It was a great Mother's Day.  I got to do my favorite things.....poking around thrift stores and painting! I found some good art and travel books in the thrift store and got a chance to spend the afternoon in the studio. I decided to do a Facebook Live broadcast to share the development of today's painting 'Among the Thistles'.  You can see the video on my You Tube channel here:

                                                     https://youtu.be/UPL2gpyp5UI

Here are a few details of the painting to give you some background:

• I am using Uart paper 500 grit that I cut into a 12x24 piece. I taped the piece to a piece of foamcore. I wanted a long and narrow piece of paper to capture this little slice of a meadow.
• I did an alcohol wash underpainting with Derwent Inktense sticks and rubbing alcohol.
• I used Terry Ludwig pastels mostly the Richard McKinley landscape set.
• I used Blair Low odor workable fixative to build the layers of the grass.
• I added the bumblebees at the very end of the painting using just a few simple marks.

I hope you enjoy the video. It is unedited in a very informal format but just imagine you are a fly on the wall of my studio watching me paint!

close up detail

Ten Steps to a Landscape on a Homemade Surface

'Salt of the Earth'            5.5 x 7.5          pastel         ©Karen Margulis
available $75

It was a 'what if' moment and I decided to act on it. I was packing supplies for my recent workshop when I decided I should show the group how I tone Uart paper. I also wanted to share a great way to make a homemade sanded surface. While I had the supplies out I figured that I might as well tone some extra paper......and why not make my own sanded paper while I was at it!

I took out a piece of Arches cold pressed watercolor paper that I had on hand for another project. I poured some clear gesso in a container and tinted it with a little buff color acrylic paint. I brushed it on the paper and the result was a very nice piece of sanded paper. Perfect for a painterly landscape. Enjoy the following step by step demo.

Step 1:  I toned the paper with acrylic paint mixed in clear gesso which has a slight grittiness. The heavy watercolor paper was perfect for this mixture.

Step 2: Working from a photo of a windswept landscape, I blocked in the big shapes with a Nupastel.

Step 3: I used one of my favorite ways to block in a painting by choosing four values of one color to block in the values of the shapes. This created a nice value map to work on.

Step 4:  Since the paper was so bumpy I decided to rub in this first layer to push the pastel into the paper. I was left with a nice soft dreamy underpainting.

Step 5:  The Shades of Nature set of Terry Ludwig pastels would be perfect for the mood of this scene. I only had to add a few other colors such as the blues of the distant tree line.

Step 6: I began by reinforcing the dark areas with a dark brown pastel. I also developed the distant tree line with several cool blue green pastels. I left them soft and out of focus.

Step 7:  Next I painted the sky using pale peach and light warm yellow. I rubbed in the first layer and then added fresh pastel. I made my marks angle down into the painting to direct the viewer's eye.

Step 8:  I began refining the ground plane beginning at the back with lighter and duller and cooler  greens. I added some brighter green to the shrubs using short blocky strokes.

Step 9:  I continued developing the grasses moving into the foreground with peaches and dull orange. I still used big strokes allowing the texture of the gesso to suggest grass.

Step 10:  In this step I finish the painting by adding some detailed grasses. I used harder pastels to make some linear grass marks.  The final touch was to add a few tiny yellow flowers in the foreground.

I enjoyed working on this surface. The texture didn't allow me to get too fussy. The best part is the cost! I had a big sheet of watercolor paper that I cut into smaller sizes. It was so easy to prepare and add texture to the paper. I will definitely be making more!