My Favorite Tip for Painting Snow in Pastel

'Winter Song'    11x14         pastel        ©Karen Margulis
available $165

 It's December and I am ready to paint one of my favorite subjects.....The Winter Landscape. I love painting snow and bare trees and the muted subtle colors of the winter landscape. Every year I get recharged and energized by the winter landscape and can't wait to get into the studio and pull out my winter photos. I do another important task before I start a new winter series......

I make up a SNOW TRAY! The snow tray makes painting snow more efficient and successful.

What is a snow tray?  It is simply one of my butcher trays that I fill with all of the colors I think I might need to paint the actual snow and the shadows on the snow. I don't pull colors for trees or sky or water....only the SNOW colors. And it is important to note that I try to avoid using pure white. I prefer using very pale/light values of color. Look at the photo below and see what colors you can identify.

MY SNOW TRAY

There are reasons behind all of these color selections for both the shadows and the snow colors. In the  month of December I will  share more about painting the winter landscape both here on this blog and with expanded information with even more tips, videos and information on my Patreon page.

Here are some of the topics we will be covering: Aerial perspective in snow, shadow color in snow, bare trees, painting falling snow, painting white without white, using pure white to create colorful lights, the power of neutrals in the winter landscape, painting snowmen, figures in the winter landscape and more!

close up of my little cardinal

 Painting notes: 11x14 on mounted Wallis (old piece) with Terry Ludwig and Diane Townsend pastels.

Consider trying Patreon for the month of December. It is $4 for the month. If you find that it isn't for you it is very easy to cancel your subscription before the end of the month. We are building a great community and would love for you to join us! www.patreon.com/karenmargulis

How to Create a Snow Storm in Pastel

'Hurry Home!'       10.5 x 7      pastel       ©Karen Margulis
available $165

 I still remember that day. Caitlin and I were in Chicago. We were spending the day downtown while Corey was at work. It wasn't supposed to snow that day. But the forecast was wrong. Very wrong. It started after lunch. A nice gentle dusting of snow....pretty flurries that made us smile. We were happy we wore our boots! Soon though the snow intensified. It kept falling and it was getting heavier and more persistent. The wind picked up and it became cold and wet. It wasn't fun anymore.

So we found shelter in a store. The best place to be in a snow storm for Caitlin. I was distracted though. I wanted to watch the storm. Fortunately I found a window overlooking an intersection. I sat in the window with my camera and snapped away. I watched the people struggle against the snow and wind. They became some of my favorite subjects to paint.

Today I prepared some textured boards and decided to revisit some of these photos. Textured boards make a great base for painting a snow storm. It is easy to paint falling snow. Read on for some tips.

Working on a home made textured surface toned yellow

The painting before the addition of snow

• I paint the big simple shapes of the composition first. I paint the snow on the ground but I don't worry about the falling snow at first.

• Once the painting is complete it is time to add the snow. I choose a white or very light value soft pastel and a palette knife. These are the tools of the trade!

• I hold the pastel over my painting and shave the pastel over the painting using the palette knife making sure I move it all over the painting. I want to avoid having clumps of pastel dust.

• I press the bits of dust into the board with the back of the palette knife. Now I have what looks like a gentle snow fall.

• To create a snow storm I take my pinky finger and quickly flick some of the snow bits so that they smudge. This gives the illusion of movement....as if the wind is blowing the snow.

• I wanted to create even more movement in the snow so I used the sharp edge of a hard white pastel and paint some thin lines in the direction of the blowing wind.

• The combination of pastel dust, flicking pastel and drawing thin lines all combine to create the feeling of a snow storm.

Weekend Assignment: Working With a Mystery Underpainting

'First Snow Retreating'          5x7        pastel       ©Karen Margulis
sold

 How are you doing on your goal to paint more in 2017? I know many of you told me that you are making the commitment to paint more often. I try to paint something everyday even if it is just a small study. The problem is coming up with ideas and things to paint. I am not lacking reference material. I have over 50,000 photos! But sometimes I just don't know how to get started. Too many choices are just as challenging as too few!

I have an idea for a daily painting exercise that gives me fuel for many paintings. I'd like to share it with you and perhaps you can give it a try. Create some Mystery Underpaintings this weekend!

A mystery Underpainting

 A Mystery Underpainting is an underpainting done without any idea of the subject. Usually when doing an underpainting we have the photo or scene in front of us. The underpainting then is designed to work with the subject. Mystery Underpaintings are opposite. They are done without a subject in mind.....A subject is then found to fit the underpainting results. The result is a more playful underpainting. It invites happy accidents!

I often do several wet underpaintings at the same time. It saves on time and clean-up. I take several pieces of paper and just play with shapes and colors and brushstrokes. It can be any type of wet underpainting from watercolor and oil to wet pastel. Anything goes! I set these underpaintings aside for a day like today when I just didn't know what to paint or how to get started.

Midway through the painting. See the underpainting peeking through?

Today's Mystery Underpainting suggested trees and grasses to me. So I found a photo that spoke to me that I felt would work with the underpainting. Since it is a mystery and done months ago I'm afraid I don't know what I used to create it. It doesn't really matter though. It provided a colorful and interesting start to my early winter landscape. (scroll up to see the underpainting)

I liked the results. I probably wouldn't have thought to put that bright blue under the trees but I like how it peeks out under the dull colors of winter!

close up. click to enlarge

How about creating some mystery underpaintings this weekend! 

Join Me for Paint Time 2017

'The Promise of a New Year'        9x12          pastel       ©Karen Margulis
available $150

Happy New Year to all of my wonderful friends around the world. Your art and comments and questions inspire me every day. I appreciate the relationship we all have on this blog. It's been 11 years and I am looking forward to another year of sharing.

I've been thinking about what I want to do with art in the coming year. I have a full schedule of travel, workshops and my daughter's wedding so it is feeling a bit overwhelming. I want to keep my goals low key and simple. I had a brainstorm of sorts and thought you might like to join me!

Paint Time 2017

I am a firm believer in daily painting practice. I paint every day I can even if it is something small.  I know that sometimes it isn't possible to do a daily painting and I might just have one of those years! But I recommend that you make time to paint at least once a week. You deserve it! If you can do just one new painting a week you will see results!  I am calling this precious time I vow to carve out for myself Paint Time 2017. Here are some details of my project:

• Choose a motif. I am going to choose my most favorite thing to paint which is Queen Annes Lace. For my Weekly Painting I will only paint this subject. It will stretch me to see how I can treat these flowers in 52 different ways. I will learn and I will grow from this challenge. Note: you do your best work when you paint what you truly love. You paint from your heart!

• Set Aside Time: I still plan to do daly paintings so this project is something extra but if your time is limited look at your schedule and make time for an hour each week to work on this project.

• Share your results: I love sharing work on social media. I have made so many art friends around the world through Facebook, Instagram, blogging etc. I plan to share my weekly painting on social media. Consider sharing this year. Start with Instagram. It's fun and easy. More on this in an upcoming post. Use #Painttime2017 when sharing so we can all see one another's work!

Will you give this project a try? Let me know in the comments and share what subject you plan to paint 52 times!

****Sunday Studio Time Facebook Live is back! I am planning a painting demo on Facebook Live January 1 around 2:00 (tentative) If you miss it I will post the video to YouTube. *****

My Annual Snowman Painting and a Tip for Painting Snow

'Dashing Through the Snow'          9x12        pastel
available $150

 It's Snowman time! For the past few years I have painted a holiday snowman. It is always fun to create a new snow person and give him or her a personality. This year I decided to put my snowman in the middle of a fir tree forest. It began as a serene scene. A quiet winter day. I wanted to add some gently falling snow. Quiet and peaceful.

I found a new tool to make some snow! I usually just scrape a white pastel with a palette knofe to make some snow 'dust'. This time I use a small grating tool made by Derwent. It is intended to make liquid ink from their Inktense blocks. It made great pastel snow! A nice variety of sizes for bigger snowflakes!

To make the snow I took the grater top off the jar. I put my painting flat on the table and shaved the pastel right on top go the painting. I used a piece of glassine paper to press the snowy bits into the paper. But I had a slight mishap!

The glassine paper shifted while I was rubbing and the result were a couple of smooshed areas. At first I was mad at myself for not being more careful but then those areas started to grow on me. It looked like the wind was blowing the snow. So now my gentle day became a snowy day! 

close up of Mr. Snowman

What Mother Nature Teaches Us About Color

'First Snow'          9x12       pastel         ©Karen Margulis
available $155

The day was cold and dreary. The clouds were getting thicker and the sky was heavy with the promise of snow. We walked through the park at a fast clip anxious to get home. It was actually the type of weather I love.....moody and gray. That is when hidden color really comes to life!  I had my camera around my neck and quickly shot photos as we passed through the park.

I have returned home to Georgia missing my grandbabies but filled with inspiration and excitement. The first thing I decided to paint was a scene from the walk in the park. I loved the little trees with the bright red berries. They teach us an important lesson about color.

All Color is No color!  If you want a color to stand out...to pop or sing...then it is important to surround the color with duller or neutral colors. This provides the stage so the main color can be the star!  Mother Nature does this! All we need to do is look and we will see it.

Follow along my step by step demo to see how I made the red berries the star of my painting.

The block in: Roughing in the trees with a dark dull violet and some gray blues. I am using Canson Mi-Teintes paper.

Adding some dull reds to the trees and some pale pinks to the sky. I am also adding some dull pale pinks and violets to the snow. I indicate a few branches with a dark blue pastel.

I blend in this first layer of pastel to add some soft mystery. I paint the bare trees by blocking in a mass then carving the branches with sky color.

Now I add a brighter red by using a brick red pastel on it's side. This isn't the most intense red I will use. I am gradually building up to the bright red berries. I also develop the snow and shadows on the snow. So far everything is still on the dull side!

I spray the trees with Blair workable fixative so that I can get more texture in the trees. I also add some snow on the branches. The next step is to finally add the brightest most intense red for the berries. I use soft Schminke pastels in a cool red and a warm orange red. I make a few 'berry' marks and call the painting finished!

close up of the berries

It's great to be back in the studio! Thank you all for your patience while I took a Grammie break from the blog!

Painting Snow with Almost White Pastels

'Almost Winter'     11x14      pastel        ©Karen Margulis
available $150

I never use white pastels. Well.....maybe sometimes but very rarely do I ever use a pure white stick of pastel in a painting.  I recently bought a chalkboard and chalk (for fun) and it reminded me of how chalky a pure white pastel can look. I prefer colorful lights.  When something is supposed to be white like clouds or snow I first look for the colors that are present in the surroundings. White things reflect the colors that surround them so they rarely appear pure chalky white.

When I am faced with painting something white I reach for my favorite light pastels...Diane Townsend Soft pastels. These lights are almost white but lean towards a pale color.  I call them 'Almost Whites'.  I love love Terry Ludwig, Sennelier and Schminke Almost Whites but I seem to reach most often for the Diane Townsends. I like the ever so slight gritty texture and how it they sound scratchy when using them.

A collection of 'Amost Whites'. The pastel on the far left is pure white for comparison

I don't use a specific color name but when I am low I just order open stock. I like to keep a pale (almost white) version of each primary and secondary color on the color wheel....red, blue, yellow,orange,violet and green.  Basically I want a warm and cool light.

The next time you are painting something white and reach for the pure white....stop and look for the color. Choose a pale light instead of the white. Reserve that pure white for the highlight if it is even necessary.

If you are thinking about painting snow this winter I invite you to look at my Winter/Snow pastel demo download. You can read more about it in my Etsy shop here

Painting A Snow Scene in Six Easy Steps

'City Kids'           8x10        pastel        ©Karen Margulis
sold

Greta is a city kid. Even though she isn't quite two years old she goes to her neighborhood park everyday. She has a group of friends already and I can just imagine the day when they will be old enough to go on the sledding hill. This painting is dedicated to my granddaughter and all of the city kids out there! 

I took some step by step photos as I painted this one. Here are my steps and my thoughts as the painting developed.

I chose a homemade support which is mat board coated with gesso and pumice mix. It is white. I did a quick drawing with a pink Nupastel. My reference photo inspired me but I made changes to create a better composition.

I blocked in the painting with big simple shapes of neutral pastels. I selected muted colors from my 'neutral drawer'. These are all grayed down muted colors such as blue-grays and muted purples. You can see the texture of the pumice in this photo.

Here is a shot of my Neutral Drawer. I keep these colors together so I remember to use them. Next to other more saturated colors these pastel get overlooked. Some may even think of them as ugly or dirty. I love their soft subtleness.

I decide to rub in this first layer of pastel to fill in the rough texture of the support and to create an out of focus underpainitng.

For this painting I choose to work on my center of interest first. The children going up the sled hill are my center of interest. Anytime you add a figure to a painting the eye looks at the figure first. I want to make sure they are well placed and developed before I spend too much time on the less important parts of the painting.

Next I develop the trees and suggest window in the distant buildings. I am still using my neutrals. I did use some saturated colors on my figures. I also add some blue and lavender shadows in my snow.

 I work on the snow some more. I use a dull rose for the distant snow and some brighter whites in the foreground snow. I also make some footprints in the snow. I also add a few lamp posts and light the lights....since I was going to make it snow.

I add the snow using pastel dust. I decide to add some smaller figures in the distance since my two stars seemed a bit lonely!  I also changed the color of the turquoise sled to yellow to echo the lights in the distance. Now I am finished!

A Simple Technique for Painting Falling Snow with Pastels...demo

'On the Way to Grandmother's House'             9x12          pastel         ©Karen Margulis
click here to purchase $150

Want to paint snow with pastels?  Forget about trying to paint every snowflake. I have a quick and easy way to create a snowy landscape.  All you need is a very light value pastel and something with a sharp edge. I like to use a palette knife.  A piece of glassine or tracing paper is helpful but you could do without it in a pinch. Read on for details.

I am using a light gray piece of Canson Touch paper that I also coated with some clear gesso for a bit more texture. I used only my softer pastels, Terry Ludwigs and Diane Townsend lights. I blocked in the darkest shapes with some blues and purples.

I block in the sky with pale pink and pale yellow bringing it down into the trees.

I finished the snow covered foreground and mid ground using blues for the shadows on the snow and pale yellows and pinks for the snow color. I don't use pure white at all.

I refine the trees by using the sky color to create some airy and lacy branches. I also lightly draw in some branches with the sharp edge of my pastel. I refine the trunks and aadd some bits of color to the trees. Now I am ready for the falling snow.

I lay the painting flat. Using my flat palette knife and a pale pale pastel (not white) I shave the pastel over the painting where I want some snow to fall. I dig into the pastel stick to create some larger snowflakes. Once I am satisfied with the amount and placement of the snow I put down the piece of glassine paper and press down with my palm all over the paper to push the pastel dust into the paper. I also use the palette knife to push the bits of pastel into the paper. I also use the palette knife to draw in some branches like scratch art.

Voila...now you have falling snow!  Easy and a lot of fun!

A Simple Way To Recycle Pastel Paper

'Two Against One'                    8x10                   pastel               ©Karen Margulis

I knew I wanted lots of texture. I had a painting idea but I didn't have the right surface to make it work. I had a stockpile of textured boards that I had made myself with pumice and gesso but they were gone. I needed to make more. I didn't have any pumice though.

I had another idea so I turned up the music and got to work. I took out my bottle of Liquitex Clear Gesso, a gesso brush and a bottle of purple Golden fluid acrylic paint. The clear gesso has just enough grit to add texture to a surface. It would be perfect to cover up some old (bad) paintings. I had several of these duds done on Pastelbord that I have been wanting to recycle.

clear gesso and liquid acrylic paint

 The clear gesso is colorless so I decide to tint it with some fluid acrylic paint. I choose a deep purple. It was a great choice. The purple mixed with the pastel pigment on the boards and made a wonderful collection of dull middle value toned surfaces. On some of them you can still see ghost images of the previous paintings. I can't wait to use them!  I had enough purple gesso so I coated some old paintings sone on Uart and mat board as well.

The recycled papers and boards

Once the newly recycled boards were dry I got to wok on my painting. I was in the mood for a snow scene. I revisited my Chicago photos and found one that spoke to me.  Below is the preliminary sketch. I played with the umbrella color. I tried yellow first but it was too predictable. Next I tried coral and that made me happy.  When I was satisfied with the details I added some shaved pastel snow dust. The dull purple of the new surface was perfect for my painting.

detail of the figures

A Better Way to Secure Pastel Paper to Your Board

'Almost Winter'                 11x14             pastel                    ©Karen Margulis
painting available $150

 Say no to the blue tape.  Say no to long strips of tape. Say no to clips that have to be moved around. Say no to rolling up pieces of tape. There is a better way. I am very easy going but I do have one big pet peeve when it comes to painting. My paper must be secured firmly to my drawing board. It has to lay completely flat. There can be no curls or paper moving and lifting. It is difficult to control marks when the paper is curled up at the ends. I also don't like to use a lot of tape for a painting.
I have a solution!

Make Tape Hinges with white artist tape! 

A roll of white artist tape on a dispenser (a must have tool!)

Why not blue painter's tape or long strips of tape?  I avoid using any color tape other than white. I also avoid taping the paper down on all four sides using strips of tape.  Long strips of colored tape are especially dangerous.  Why?  Colored tape will effect how the colors and values in your painting are perceived.

We know that colors change the way they appear when another color is places next to it.  A color may be considered cool until we put an even cooler color next to it.....all of the sudden the first color seems warmer. So if you have bright blue tape or manilla masking tape all around your painting....these colors effect how the colors you put in your painting appear. It may be subtle but it is there! White tape prevents this potential influence.

Not only does colored tape effect the painting....long strips aren't really needed to secure the painting. Have a look at making simple tape hinges:

STEP ONE: Tear a piece of white artist tape measuring about two inches long. I use tape that is 3/4 wide. Place the tape on the back of the paper with about an inch of the STICKY side facing out (towards you). I place a piece of tape on all four corners. I will sometimes add a piece of tape to the sides especially if I am going to do a wet underpainting.

STEP TWO: Tear another two inch piece of tape and place it over the sticky side of the corner tape. Voila! A hinge is made. Do the same thing for all four corners.

The beauty of making tape hinges is the economy. I can easily peel the finished painting from the tape hinges and reuse the same board with tape in place. I can usually use the same tape for 2-3 paintings. Once it loses it stickiness I throw it away and start fresh.

Hinges also allow the entire paper to be exposed. Taping the corners down leave you with unfinished corners to deal with. Making rolls of tape stuck to the back of the painting might create bumps in the painting. Hinges prevent these problems!


Disclaimer:  This is my preferred method. I know many artists who do things differently and with great success. This is just another way. Some artists like to use long strips of tape to mask their painting and create a clean edge. My working method is different and I'll share more tomorrow.