When the Muse Visits You Must Respond!

A Profusion of Poppies!  A collage of my mini poppy paintings. Each one is 2.5x3.5 inches pastel
each available in my Etsy shop for $25 each including shipping

Every once in awhile it happens. I go a bit crazy and just can't stop painting. I get hooked on a subject which turns into a series and I can't stop. I was even painting in the evenings which I never do. I just had to see how many variations on the theme I could come up with.  This time it was poppies.

I was working on some mini aceo/artist trading card size paintings to bring to IAPS (more on this later) and one of them was a poppy painting. I love painting poppies, especially the red ones so I decided to do a couple more. Then a couple more. Before I knew it I had taped 6 more pieces of Uart paper to my board. The 6 more. I couldn't stop.

With each one I challenged myself to make it different from the last. I changed compositions. I changed color palettes. I asked myself how many sky or background colors could I use? I tried up close and personal and meadows filled with poppies. I finally stopped at no.22. I could probably do 20 more. I am that inspired!

Below you can scroll down and see all 22 mini poppy paintings. I am making them available through my Etsy shop for $25 each which includes shipping. Click here. Enjoy!

'Poppy no. 1'     2.5 x 3.5    pastel     $25

My pile of pastels ....the aftermath

Mini paintings protected in a clear bag with foamcore backing

 Click on each painting to enlarge. If you wish to purchase a painting please visit my Etsy shop or send me an email.

It's Mini Week! How to Paint on the Go

'Red and Green'        2.5 x 3.5      pastel       ©Karen Margulis
available $25

It is mini week here on the blog!  I am back from my mom's birthday cruise with a collection of mini pastels that I painted while I was away. There is nothing more relaxing than sitting in a lounge chair at sea and painting. The gentle sea breeze and a bit of warm sunshine equals total relaxation. It is the perfect combination that leads to a fun painting session. I love lounge chair painting but it needs to be stress free and easy in order for it to be fun.

After several years of painting on the go I have perfected my systems. I have several set-ups for plein air painting with pastels. The one I choose depends on the type of travel I am doing. When I want to keep my art supplies at a bare minimum I bring the set-up illustrated below. This set up is small and light but allows me to paint up to 6x8 with ease. 

My smallest travel pastel set-up....a Heilman single sketch box and a book cover case!

 Here are the details of this set-up:

• I use a Heilman single sketch box. I used to use a cigar box and then an old Terry Ludwig pastel box. Both of these worked fine but the Heilman is sturdier and protects my pastels better. It also doubles as a pochade box so you can put your paper on the inside lid. I don't use the box in this way. I prefer to use a 5x7 piece of foam core and some bankers clasps to hold my paper. 
• Support board: I cut a piece of foam core to 5x7 and place it inside of a clear bag for protection. You could also cover it with clear contact paper. I use bankers clasps to hold my paper on the board so I don't have to carry tape.
• I store blank pastel paper in a 5x7 plastic portfolio book by Itoya. I put the finished paintings in this book. (This trip I didn't have my book so I had to improvise ...more on this later this week!)
• Pastels: I fill my box with bits and pieces of pastels. The small pieces allow me to have more variety. I make sue to have a good range of colors and values. I love the unorganized box. It really pushes me to make interesting color choices
• Miscellaneous: small pack of wipes and a small micro fiber washcloth (I use this to protect my chair or table from pastel dust)

a nice mix of colors...all bits and pieces of various pastels
including Terry Ludwig and  Girault

This cruise I didn't paint plein air from my lounge chair. Instead I had an envelope of small reference photos. I just grabbed a random selection from my stash. It was fun going through the photos looking for subject matter. It also resulted in a wide variety of paintings!  I did do several poppy minis so I have grouped them here in today's post. They are all 2.5 x 3.5 inches on a variety of sanded papers.

All minis will be available in my Etsy shop for $25 each with free shipping. Click here to visit my shop. 

All mini poppy paintings are 2.5 x 3.5 inches and are available in my Etsy shop

Step by Step Demo: Pastel Poppies in Pictures

'A Gentle Breeze'         8x10         pastel      ©Karen Margulis
sold

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.  Join me today for a step by step demo in pictures of today's daily painting. I am working on an 8x10 piece of tan Canson Mi-Teintes paper. I begin with a dry wash underpainting using 3 values of pink. I establish the dark shapes first. I then paint the sky. I continue building the painting from big shapes of green down to the details of the flowers and grasses. I spray the grass a few times with workable fixative to create texture.

I thoroughly enjoyed painting these poppies and I hope you enjoy the process through my photos.

Three Decisions to Make When Starting a New Painting

'Flying Free'        6.5 x 12.5      pastel       ©Karen Margulis
available $175

The Poppy series continues today with more experimentation and play. I had the perfect reference photo for the painting from my trip to Wildseed Farm wildflower farm in Texas. Before I start the painting I have some decisions to make. All of these decisions depend on what I want to say with the painting. So first I ask myself WHY I am painting the subject. The answer will guide my decisions.

DECISION 1: What format should I choose? I don't always have to choose landscape format for a landscape! I can go vertical or square or even panoramic. I also don't have to stick to standard sizes. (although standard sizes are less expensive to frame) I  have enjoyed trying unusual formats this week and I had the perfect scrap of Uart paper to paint another long and tall format. This time it is smaller at 6.5 x 12.5 inches. This tall and narrow format will fir my idea of having the poppies reaching for the sky! 

DECISION 2: I have my reference photo and my paper now I had to decide how I would approach the painting. Should I just tone the paper? Should I do a wet underpainting? Should I just jump right in and paint directly with soft pastels with no underpainting? So many choices! Each one is a valid choice but would lead to a very different painting. 

*note* I like to use Uart paper because it is so versatile but the type of paper you use will also change the look of the painting so take a minute to pick the right paper if you use several types.

DECISION 3: I decide to do a wet underpainting because it suits the subject. My concept for the painting was to have a tangle of poppies reaching into the sky. There would be a hight horizon leaving a lot of the foreground grasses visible. A wet and drippy underpainting would give me a head start on the loose and expressive grasses. 

Of course there are many choices for wet underpaintings from simply wetting the pastel to using other media. I choose to use a black underpainting with black inktense stick and rubbing alcohol.

wet underpainting with black inktense and alcohol

Blocking in the darks

adding the colorful dirt

painting the sky and starting on the grass

blocking in the poppies

almost done....a few fixes for the finish!

There are more decisions that we make when starting a painting but these are three that will get you started on the right foot....with a plan!