Three Tips for Painting the Green Stuff

'Wanderings'           12 x 19              pastel            ©Karen Margulis
click here to purchase $150

 The Green Stuff is coming!   It can't come soon enough for some of us who have been buried all winter in the white stuff!  So in honor of Spring and St. Patrick's Day (I am half Irish) I thought I would share my top three tips for painting a landscape that has lots of green stuff.

I call anything that grows 'Green Stuff' even if it isn't always green.  Just to keep it simple and to remind myself that the tips don't just apply to painting trees. It includes trees, groups of trees, bushes, scrub and grasses. Landscapes often include many of these elements and I go about painting them in the same way. Here are the tips that I shared with my classes last week and I will summarize them below:

click on photo to enlarge

'California Meadows'           8x10        pastel
click here to purchase $125

These are some of the top things I think about when I paint the Green Stuff:

• The further back you go in the landscape the less strokes you need.(tweet this) This reminds me to utilize the principles of aerial perspective...less detail, contrast, cooler and lighter.

• Start with a lump of clay and carve your tree or bush using the background color. Add 'clay' to build volume by layering pastel to depict believable light (rather than lots of random leaves)

• Orange is the Secret of Green and Violet is the Friend....my favorite tip for painting green from Richard McKinley. Make your greens more interesting with this tip.

'The Turning Point'           13 x 19        pastel
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The painting in this post are the demos I did for my classes on painting the Green Stuff. They are all on Canson Mi-Teintes paper with mostly Terry Ludwig pastels.

Want to save some Green?  I am offering a selection of paintings that will be available for 20% savings for my annual Spring Studio Sale. All paintings in my Etsy shop are included. Use coupon code SPRING20 at checkout.   Visit my Etsy Gallery here.

Landscape Painting Tip of the Week...The Sun Tool

'Chasing the Sun'            12.5 x 18           pastel              ©Karen Margulis
purchase here $145

I couldn't have planned it better if I tried.  It was one of those teachable moments that I had to jump on. And now I have another tool in my bag of tricks!  I'll call it the Sunlight Tool.  What is it?  A tool that helps remind you where your light source is coming from so you can make sure your landscape painting makes sense. Here is how it came about.

In my pastel class today we are starting a new series on painting the landscape.  We were discussing how we don't always have to copy a reference photo and the subject of the light source came up. (my students always have such great questions!)  I wanted to point out that if we change the direction  of the light we needed to remember to be consistent in our treatment of the light and shadows on the entire landscape.  We can no longer rely on the reference photo. You don't want some bushes to be lit on one side and some on the other. You want to make sure the shadows fall away from the light and are consistent over the entire painting.

How can we remember to do this once we move away from the photo?  I usually like to draw a little circle on my drawing board to represent the location of the sun. It works.  But today a student happened to have a scrap paper taped to her board and on it was a bright yellow mark.  Aha!  It gave me an idea. 

 Why not have a small sun that you can position on your board to represent the location of the sun in the painting! This sun can be laminated and kept by your easel to be used in any landscape with a light source. 

I came home from class, made my sun and gave my idea a try.  Have a look at the photo above. I decided that the sun in my reference was setting. It was low in the sky and coming from behind me.  The tops of the distant trees and a small sliver of the marsh was still lit from the sun. The foreground was all in shadow.  I placed my Sun Tool on my board in the lower left. As I painted it was a visual reminder to keep my lighting consistent.

This painting was pretty straightforward but the Sun Tool will come in handy for more complicated landscapes and ones in which I change the direction of the light.

 So now When I ask myself what kind of day is it....what direction is the sun coming from and is it high or low in the sky? ....I have my own little sun to make sure I remember my answers!

watercolor underpainting on Uart with additional clear Gesso

Nest #3  Monotype with pastel      5x7

Today's nest is a monotype I had done with black ink but I added pastel for color.

How to Use the Secret of Green in a Painting

'Nantucket Greens'         8x10          pastel     ©Karen Margulis
click here to purchase $125

First layers with oranges and violets on orange paper

I've been thinking a lot about painting green lately.  My recent pastel acquisition included several set with a lot of green pastels.  I've blogged about the Marsha Savage set of Terry Ludwig pastels and The Albert Handell Unison set and the Terry Ludwig assorted greens.

So I have plenty of green pastels and plenty of green things to paint in Georgia. How can I make my green paintings more interesting?  I could use Albert Handell's suggestion to balance greens with mauves. Read about it here.  I can use Richard McKinley's secret to green.  If you would like to read more about his secret you can see my post here. He also has an excellent book 'Pastel Pointers' which is a must have for pastelists.

Plein air painting I did during a Richard McKinley workshop in Hope Valley CA

For today's painting I used both recommendations.  It is good to know these 'secrets' but the trick is learning how to actually use them in a painting!  I decided it would be more fun to demonstrate than to try to explain So today's Friday Feature You Tube video will answer the question. I hope you enjoy the video!

Painting the Greens of the Southeast

'Down by the Marsh'        11x14        pastel      ©Karen Margulis
click here to purchase $145

'Down in the Meadow'         11x14          pastel
click here to purchase $145

Today I tackled the box of Albert Handell's landscape pastel set by Unison.  I am devoting this week to organizing the sets of pastels I purchased from an artist who was downsizing.  It was not an easy task to break up this beautiful set of pastels.

But if I was going to use them it needed to be done. I found a cigar box and lined it with foam. Then I  removed the wrappers and broke each pastel in half.  I just snapped them in half but if you want to be more precise you can score them with a blade first.  An hour later I was ready to paint!

I was excited to get this set for a couple of reasons. I had attended one of Albert's workshops 6 years ago as a beginner and lusted over his set then but chose to get a Heilman box instead. (I believe at the time the set was Schminke)  I also knew that this set would be perfect for our VERY  GREEN Southeastern landscape.

I took out my notes from the workshop. I use a new notebook for every workshop and keep them all together on a shelf.  I had written down several of Albert's pearls of wisdom and this set of pastels will really be helpful for painting the greens. Here are a couple of 'pearls'

•  The trick to greens is balancing them with Mauves (purples)
• Modify your greens with mauves
• If you want to soften a green and make it go away....then use a mauve.
• "Whenever I think Green...I think Mauve"

See a pattern here?  If you have a look at the set you can see there is a great selection of greens and purples. I had just the paintings to try out the green/mauve idea.  They were unfinished demos of Southeastern Landscapes. Both were very green.  They needed more mauve! I enjoyed working with this set although the Unisons are a bit harder than I usually like.  I will work with them some more and will do a more thorough review.

Here is a link to Albert Handell's website with information about purchasing this set 

Plein Air Tips ...An Easy Way to Mount Pastel Paper

'The Peaceful Place' 9x12 pastel plein air study

purchase painting $145

I am getting excited for the 1st Annual Plein Air Convention in April. I am looking forward to learning from the world's top artists and have the opportunity to paint the Southwest again. I love to paint en plein air but don't get out as often as I would like. I have been out enough to go through several different set-ups for my equipment. I'm not sure I have the final answer for the best plein air set-up but I do have some tips that I have learned and I will be sharing in a series of plein air tips blog posts.
Today's post I will share a tip for mounting pastel paper. The painting above was done at a workshop with Richard McKinley in Hope Valley California. I had my Uart paper professionally dry mounted to rag museum board. It was a wonderful surface to take out into the field but was very expensive. I needed a way to have a rigid painting surface that wouldn't cost so much for my quick field studies. I found it with Crescent Perfect Mount Self-Adhesive Mounting Board.

'Hope Valley Autumn Study' 8x10 pastel
paper is mounted to Crescent perfect Mount Self-Adhesive board

When painting plein air with pastels it is nice to have a rigid painting surface instead of flimsy pastel papers. You could use ready made boards such as Pastelbord and several papers come pre-mounted. These are all convenient but can be pricey. I wanted a way to mount my own favorite papers but didn't want to deal with adhesives and sprays.
The Crescent Self-Adhesive Mounting board is perfect.

• It is acid free and comes in 3 thicknesses. I like the 1/16" thickness.
• It comes in several sizes. I like to get a big sheet and cut it to the sizes I need. It cuts easily with a utility knife.
  
• All you do is peel the backing, place your paper on the sticky side and burnish to form the bond. There is a review on Blick's website that details how to get a perfect mount Read HERE. Now you have a nice firm painting surface for a bargain price!
  
• Please note that this board is acid free and the adhesive is PH neutral but they have a disclaimer that it shouldn't be used for valuable art. I am not an expert on archival methods so I am not sure how archival it is. However it works great for field studies and they are light weight which is important for plein air.

I will be posting a plein air tip each week so be sure to sign up for email updates!

How to Ship an Unframed Pastel Painting

'Windswept Meadow' 8x10 pastel ©Karen Margulis

$125 Purchase with paypal or check HERE

I've got my shipping down to a science. Since I have been a member of Daily Painters.com for 6 years and now Daily Paintworks, I have shipped many pastel paintings to their new homes. And the method I use has not failed me. My paintings arrive safe and sound. I only ship unframed paintings. If I ship a framed piece to a show I use an airfloat box. So what is my shipping method? I make a foamcore sandwich! Here's how I do it:

A painting all ready to ship safely wrapped in it's foamcore sandwich

1. Cut the foamcore so that it is a few inches larger than the painting. I use a utility knife. I cut a double wide piece, score it in the middle so that it can fold shut.
2. Tape painting inside the foamcore using white artist tape. I hinge the tape. See my post on hinging tape here.
3. Cut a piece of glassine paper slightly larger than the painting and tape it down to cover the painting. I usually only tape two sides so the glassine can be lifted to view the painting. I get my glassine on rolls and cut it to fit. A roll lasts me a long time.
4. Close the cover of the foamcore sandwich and tape shut. I have printed a label with instructions that I put on the foamcore (see below)
5. I slip my foamcore sandwich into a clearbag that has a self adhesive strip. I include some business cards, a bio, pastel care information and a thank you card.
6. I have just started to wrap the whole package in nice gift wrap with a handmade card.
   

The finished package with my information and business cards

The painting is all wrapped and ready to ship

The painting is now ready to be slipped into a padded envelope or Priority Mail box depending on it's size. If it is over 8x10 then I have to make my own box from a couple of Priority Mail boxes. I save my Dakota and Blick paper order boxes for shipping large paintings. I use USPS for all of my shipping and after shipping hundreds of paintings I have never had a problem (knocking on wood here!)

I hope that if you are an artist or a buyer you have found this post useful. I'd love for you to join this site or sign up for email updates (sign-up on the right)

Taking the Mystery Out of Underpainting Colors

'Peaceful Journey' 16x20 pastel ©Karen Margulis

purchase painting with Paypal or check $320

How do you decide what colors to use in an underpainting? This is a question I hear a lot. Unfortunately there is no quick answer. There is no real formula for choosing the right colors. Your goal should be to do enough underpaintings using different approaches so that your decisions will become intuitive. There are a few different ways to approach color choices and in today's post I will share one method...Using color to set up your painting for aerial perspective.

Watercolor Underpainting on UArt paper. Click on picture to see the drips.

• Using colors to set up a feeling of depth or aerial perspective is especially useful for landscapes.
• I decided to use the local colors for the watercolor underpainting...meaning the sky is blue, the bushes are green and the rocks are orange.
• To get a head start on aerial perspective I used lighter,cooler, bluer color on the distant cliffs and warmer oranges on the mid to foreground cliffs and sand. I also made sure the distant land masses were softer and less detailed than the foreground.
• I used local color for the sky (blue) but I used a darker cooler blue for the sky at the top and let it get warmer blue as it came towards the horizon.
• I used local color for the bushes (green) but I kept the distant greens cooler and put the warmer yellow greens in the foreground bushes.

Using local colors that reflect a feeling of aerial perspective is just one approach to color choice in an underpainting. I will be sharing more approaches in future posts. By the way, I also chose to do watercolor for this painting because I thought that the loose quality and drips and blooms would give me a head start on the look of the desert cliffs and shrubs. I tried not to cover all of the watercolor with pastel in the painting.

If you would like to learn more about watercolor underpaintings you may wish to see my post regarding tips for a watercolor underpainting HERE and a finished watercolor demo HERE.

Becoming a Better Artist ...Some Excellent Advice

'The Sky's the Limit' 5x7 pastel ©Karen Margulis

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I was lucky. When I started painting I not only had great teachers, I also got wonderful advice. I was told that in order to become a better painter I would need to work hard and paint often...and I did. I still do because there is still so much to learn. I recently came across this excellent bit of advice by Ira Glass. It is such an uplifting and motivational thought for artists at any stage in their career. I hope it inspires you too.

Quote by Ira Glass

We all go through ups and downs on our art journey but it helps to know that we all struggle at some point. I try to remind myself that I shouldn't be discouraged when my paintings don't quite match my vision. I just need to keep on painting. In today's post I am sharing two quick paintings that I did this past week. The top painting is a quick pastel marsh study and the little one below is a mixed media aceo, an experimental piece I did just for fun. These are the kinds of small quick studies I like to do in between larger paintings. Doing these small quick paintings all count towards the work I need to do to help my work be as good as my ambitions!

'Believe in Yourself' 3.5 x 2.5 mixed media watercolor ink pastel
sold

Isn't it encouraging to know that we can become better artists as long as we keep working at it? In the coming weeks I will be posting some ideas on how to get in the painting time you need. I hope that you will be motivated and inspired to paint more often!
Read more about the best art advice I ever got HERE

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What You Should Consider When Naming a Painting

'Beauty Emerges From the Mist' 5x7 pastel ©Karen Margulis
painting available for purchase on Etsy $45

Paintings deserve a good title. I admit that I am not the best at naming my paintings. Usually the titles are afterthoughts. And usually the titles are just descriptive like 'Morning Marsh' or Summer Meadow'. But I have been thinking about it a lot and I am convinced that titles should be given with thought. I know that when I like someone's work, I also look at the title and I am drawn to the more evocative titles. A title such as 'Kingdom by the Sea' is more interesting than 'The Sand Castle'. These evocative titles give me a little more insight into the artist and the painting. As Robert Genn says in his post about Painting Titles "... titles serve to confirm what's seen but also to add knowledge, insight, and a glimpse into the author's mind-set." Genn says artists should take the time to determine what they are trying to say with their paintings and if the titles they choose supports or detracts from their purpose. Consider the following paintings and their titles:

'One Morning in Maine' 5x7 pastel
available on Etsy $45

'Walk With Me in Beauty' 5x7 pastel
Available on Etsy $45

'Knee Deep in Lace' 5x7 pastel
available on Etsy $45

'Red Poppy on Taos Blue' 5x7 pastel
available on Etsy $45

'Yes She Loves Me!' 5x7 pastel
available on Etsy $45

In giving titles to these paintings I took a little extra time and considered what I wanted to say about them and how I may have felt when paintings them. Another thing to consider when naming a painting is how much information or detail should you give. For example, should you use the exact location of a scene or should you keep the titles more general? How does this effect interest or sales? I try to stay somewhere in the middle for most of my paintings. Robert Genn talks about five types of titles we can consider: Sentimental, Numerical, Factual, Abstract and Mysterious. He suggests considering each kind for your painting and seeing which title type fits your intent the best. That takes time and effort but don't your paintings deserve it?

I am working on an idea that will make naming paintings more fun so stay tuned and please share your ideas by commenting below!

The Best Pastel Set for Painting the Landscape of the Southwest

'Desert Reverie' 24 x 36 Pastel ©Karen Margulis

I love my Terry Ludwig Arid Landscape set. It is the perfect set for painting the landscapes of the Southwest. I have discovered that it is also wonderful for landscapes that aren't considered arid. But if you are looking for a set of pastels for painting the beauty of the Southwest then you should put this set on your wish list. I just finished a large 24 x 36 Southwestern landscape and I used this set for 99.9% of this painting. I did use a Diane Townsend light for the clouds and a Terry Ludwig Turquoise from anther set. This set has a great range of colors and values so I didn't have to open by big pastel box. I just worked out of this little box.

Terry Ludwig Pastels Arid Landscape Set

Aren't these colors wonderful! They really will work for other landscapes besides Arid... I have used it for summer meadows with dried grasses and beach scenes. You only need a few extra greens if you want to paint a landscape with more greens like we have here in Georgia. This is one set that I will keep in it's original box. Usually when I get new pastels I integrate them into my big box. I have them arranged by value and color and it is so much easier to choose my colors this way. When you have your pastels all neat in their original boxes it is too hard to keep up with what you have . (I will be posting about this soon) But since this set is so perfect for the arid landscape I take it out when I know it will suit my subject.

Oil Underpainting on 24x26 grey Pastelbord

This painting came to me in a dream hence the title 'Desert Reverie'. It is from my reference photo. It is New Mexico somewhere near Abiquiu. In my dream I saw it as a big painting and I saw myself taking out a big Pastelbord 24x36 that I had stuck behind a shelf and forgotten about. I also saw myself as doing an oil stain underpainting. When I woke up yesterday I couldn't wait to get down into the studio and paint this painting!
If you would like to learn more about oil underpaintings, sign up for blog updates (on sidebar) as I will be posting a demo this week.

Click Here to see Terry Ludwig's Arid Landscape set .

How to Make Thumbnail Value Studies Fun

'Mountain Peace' 5x7 pastel on Townsend paper ©Karen Margulis
Purchase painting with paypal or check $80

Doing thumbnail value studies is like exercise. We know it is good for us but we don't always like doing them. When we do them we feel better and we see results! I know I am sometimes to anxious to get started on a painting and I don't want to take the time to plan and do a thumbnail. I have also heard other artists say that doing thumbnails spoils the spontaneity and enthusiasm for the painting. I am calling them thumbnails but I am referring to small value studies and not detailed sketches. I believe strongly that doing these little value studies is important for a successful painting so I have found a way to make it a fun part of my painting process. It's all about the tools!

TomBow Markers and a tiny 2.5 x 3.5 sketchbook

Artists love art supplies so when I found these Tombow Dual Brush markers and tiny sketchbook I knew it would make doing thumbnails quick and easy ...and fun! I had been doing my value studies with pencils but it was hard to get nice even value masses . The markers have a brush tip and have nice smooth coverage. They come in several values of grey both warm and cool but I prefer using #N95, N65 and N55. The sketchbook is 2.5 x 3.5 by Borden & Riley. Here are a few of my value studies and some tips on doing them.

1. The purpose for doing small value studies is to help you plan your painting. It helps you design a strong composition with big simple shapes. You can simplify the big areas of lights, darks and middle values to make sure you have a strong foundation for your painting. You can evaluate your design to make sure your values aren't too spotty and that the value patterns help lead the viewer around your painting.
2. Value studies don't have to be big. I like mine to be business card size. This prevents me from getting too fussy with details.
3. Value studies are about shapes not lines. I don't do a detailed sketch but instead just block in my big simple shapes.
   
4. When doing a value study you must squint at your scene or photo to remove the distraction of color and detail. You need to look at each big shape and put down the average value...if there are small light areas in a dark..make it all dark in your value study. As your painting develops you will be able to bring out the details and the lighter areas if needed.

Just remember to think Big Simple Shapes and have fun doing your thumbnails and treat yourself to some new tools! Like exercise, if you make it a habit you will see the rewards of your effort!

The Best Invention for Hanging Art on Paper

'Landscape Variation #48' 5x7 pastel ©Karen Margulis

painting available Paypal or check $80

Wouldn't it be nice to fill your studio walls with art! I have a large paneled wall and wanted to find a way to hang my small daily paintings. Last week I shared the tip about using an Ikea Curtain wire and that works great for temporary storage but I decided I wanted to display my 100 landscape variations as I completed them. Thumbtacks were out because I didn't want any holes in the paintings. I wasn't keen on using the sticky tack stuff either. I was thrilled to discover PaperCrickets....the best invention for hanging paper!

A section of my wall with some of the Variation Challenge paintings hung with Papercrickets

A close-up of a Papercricket in the frost color

What is a Papercricket? Here is a quote from the ASW website where you can purchase them.
"The PaperCricket is a paper-friendly push pin that secures photographs, postcards, Artist Trading Cards, posters and similar paper products onto a bulletin board or drywall without puncturing the paper. No holes! Great for offices, classrooms and dorm rooms!
Besides not puncturing the photo or paper item, the PaperCricket's flexible wing design allows you to slip the item in and out without pulling the "cricket" off the wall or bulletin board, allowing less damage to a wall surface. Available in Frosted or Black finishes."

I love them because it is so easy to leave the crickets in place and slip the painting out of the clip with no damage. Great for artists and collectors! You can buy Papercrickets at ASW Express.

Today's painting is one of my 100 Landscape variations that I completed in 2009. I will be posting this week on the importance of Value in painting so please be sure to check back in or sign up for updates!

What Makes a Great Art Workshop?

'Crow Creek Fall' 5x7 plein air pastel ©Karen Margulis

Purchase painting with Paypal

I have taken some excellent pastel workshops. Each one has given me skills and a unique perspective that I have incorporated into my own way of working. I would like to share some thoughts on how I choose a workshop and review some of my favorite workshops,beginning with Stan Sperlak. First, what do I look for when choosing a workshop?

1. The most important thing is that I like the artist/instructor's work. If I admire the work then I will be more interested in learning about how the artist works.
2. I look for an instructor who is organized. I want to know what we will be doing, what to bring and once the workshop starts does the instructor go over the schedule, have maps, have handouts? There is enough to think about with learning new things so I don't want to wonder about the logistics.
3. I learn best from an instructor who combines lectures/talks with plenty of demos. I would rather have a few short demos than one long one. For me handouts to accompany the lectures are a nice bonus.
4. I love workshops where the instructor goes the extra mile and shares reference books and materials, meets with the group for a dinner or informal art talks after class. As a teacher myself I know it is tiring but as a student I really learn from these after class sessions. I appreciate the instructors who takes time to meet after class some evenings.
5. I prefer to take workshops with a small group of students but for the most popular instructors this isn't always possible. Some instructors do a great job making sure that everyone gets individual attention at the easel no matter how large the group.
6. I like an instructor that gives plenty of group feedback...whether at the end of each day or the end of the workshop but I learn so much from hearing what is said about everyone's work and not just my own.

When choosing to take a workshop I try to find reviews or talk to other artists to find out if the workshop instructor meets my criteria. This isn't always easy to find so I will be reviewing my favorite workshops in the coming weeks. I'd like to start with one of my top choices...Stan Sperlak

'Farm View' 8x10 plein air pastel

I have taken three workshops with Stan. He meets all of my criteria and then some....which is why I keep going back! Here is a little bit about Stan's workshops taken from his website

"Stan believes in working from life first, and understands the artists need to also work in the studio. Here he excels in teaching students how to see, analyze and re-interpret a scene, how to bring from within yourself paintings that reflect your emotion and connection to your subject and produce believable images. Stan constantly weaves lessons from life, history and nature into all his critiques and lectures. You will come away from the workshop with a new appreciation of the world around you!"

Stan really goes above and beyond to be sure he helps you no matter what your experience level. I love how Stan is able to relate lessons about the natural world to art. For example he doesn't just demonstrate how to paint a sky or a sunset....he explains why the colors in the sky look as they do...while you are out looking at it. Now when I paint a sky I remember this lesson and it helps me make better paintings.

Here is a Stan experience that sums it all up... My two friends and I attended a workshop at Stan's Crow Creek Farm. At one point we were struggling with painting a field. Stan was making his rounds and realized we were struggling so he got his easel, set up and did a quick demo to show us a way to approach the field. (He had already done 2 group demos) That is connecting with your students and really helping them learn! We will never forget how he went out of his way to make sure we understood how to see the aerial perspective in that field.

'Afternoon Weeds' 5x7 pastel

The paintings I am sharing in this post are all plein air paintings I did at a workshop at Stan's Crow Creek Farm in Goshen New Jersey. It is a wonderful, inspiring place and a fantastic location for a workshop. Stan has a full schedule of workshops for 2012 and you can see them all on his website. If you can get to one, you will not be disappointed!
See Stan's work HERE

How to Paint Falling Snow with Pastels

'Evening Snow' 11x14 pastel on board ©Karen Margulis  sold

I've been painting up a storm! This week I have been working on my own home made surfaces and painting some winter landscapes. One of the things I have been wanting to paint is the effect of falling snow. Painting individual snowflakes doesn't work very well. Anytime you try to be too literal with landscape elements you don't leave much to the viewer's imagination. Painting every snow flake would be like trying to paint every leaf on a tree. I find it better to suggest rather than spell it all out. I wanted to find a way to suggest falling snow. I discovered a couple of techniques that work for me.

Snow Making Kit for pastels

• The first method is a twist on a technique I learned from Terry Ludwig. I attended a plein air workshop a few years ago and Terry demonstrated this technique for adding spray to whitewater. To make snow all you do is shave some white or very light value soft pastel into a cup or lid, add a few drops of water to make a paste. You are actually returning the pastel into is wet, pasty stage. Now take a stiff brush or toothbrush, rub it into the liquid pastel. To create the snow, hold the brush over your painting and either flick or run a finger over the bristles to spatter the pastel 'snow'. You might have to play around with the consistency of the paste to get the effect you want. Don't worry about the wet spatters. They will dry and most of the pastel snow will stick. Instant snow!

Palette Knife Technique

• Another snow making technique is to shave some soft pastel on the area of your painting where you want the snow. Press these shaved pieces into the paper with a palette knife. This works for adding small specks as well as for larger areas such as snow covered branches. I love using iridescent white pastels with this technique.

This photo shows both techniques and how they appear on your surface. I have fun with this technique and I have ideas for using it in other landscapes that I can't wait to try. Do you have techniques for painting falling snow? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
P.S. I just read Richard McKinley's Pastel Pointer blog post which is on this technique called 'Dusting'. He explains it in detail in his post.