Author Archives: Karen Margulis
Southeastern Marsh Painting 18×24
‘It’s A Beautiful Day’ 18×24 pastel
Some paintings take awhile to be born. This one has been waiting for a couple of years! It started out as a commission. The client wanted a large marsh painting with several very specific details. There was to be a jon boat and a tree with fishing nets in the foreground. The sky had to be a particular shade of blue. I got as far as blocking it in and doing the sky when the commission was cancelled due to family circumstances of the client. So I filed the painting away in a stack of foamcore pieces and forgot all about it. I discovered it a few weeks ago and not wanting to waste a big piece of paper (18×24) I starting thinking about how I could remake this painting. This is the end result. If you would like to see a step by step demo of the birth of this painting, I invite you to visit my daily painting blog HERE
Southwestern Sunset Pastel Painting
‘Chasing the Desert Sunset’ 8×10 pastel ©Karen Margulis
Sometimes less is more. Sometimes you need to take something away rather than add some more. And so it is when painting things that have fine lines such as grasses and branches. One of the first things a beginning pastel artist usually wants to know is how to make the fat pastel sticks make delicate fine lines. It actually is possible with the right touch and technique and I will share that in another post. There is another technique for creating fine lines and it involves an aluminum push pin! If you are interested in how this technique works you can see my daily painting post HERE.
Southwestern Winter Pastel with Complementary Colors
‘Winter Solitude’ 11×14 pastel
I love playing with Complementary colors. When deciding on what colors to use in an underpainting I often turn to using complimentary pairs. I shared my thoughts about using local colors to set up aerial perspective in a painting in my daily painting blog. Using complements in the underpainting can lead to a more exciting and interesting painting.This painting started with a watercolor underpainting in the compliments of the final colors used. See work in progress photos here.
“An artist finds his happiest combination in the play of complimentary colors. They are direct contrasts yet do not jar; they awaken the beholder,but do not disturb him.” Charles Burchfield
Some Thoughts on Naming a Painting
‘Beauty Emerges From the Mist’ 5×7 pastel ©Karen Margulis
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. I have renamed several of my wildflower paintings with titles that have more insight into my own thoughts of the painting. You can see them on my daily painting blog HERE
Wildflowers with Bumblebees pastel
‘Believe in Magic’ 19×27 pastel ©Karen Margulis
I have been wanting to add some bumblebees to my wildflower paintings so this one was a lot of fun to paint. I started the painting with a watercolor underpainting which I love for this subject. I enjoy the drips and unexpected blooms that come with the watercolor. If you would like to see a step by step demo of this painting please visit my daily painting blog here.
Twilight with Fireflies 18×24 pastel
‘Into the Twilight’ 18×24 pastel ©Karen Margulis
I love the versatility of pastels. There are so many ways to start a painting and one of my favorite ways is to start with oil paint. I do some kind of underpainting for probably 95% of my paintings. I find the painting process more exciting with an underpainting, especially the wet drippy ones. I recently posted a watercolor underpainting demo and starting with oils is similar but the results are most definitely different! To see a step by step demo of this painting, visit my daily painting blog here.
Dandelion Pastel Painting 5×7
‘Wishful Thinking’ 5×7 pastel SOLD
This week I have been experimenting with watercolor underpaintings. I love the possibilities that the watercolor creates. It drips, it blooms and colors merge. It makes an exciting base to build my pastels painting on. This painting started with a watercolor underpainting with a dusting of pastel pieces for the dandelion seeds.
Summer Meadow Wildflower Pastel 5×7
‘Summer Fields’ 5×7 pastel ©Karen Margulis SOLD
This painting is done on Townsend Pastel Paper which I really love. It has a soft feel due to the BFK Rives paper but has nice tooth from the sanded surface. I experimented with the Dusting technique of shaving pastel over the painting which gives an interesting effect to my wildflowers.
Nantucket Beach Roses 8×10 pastel
‘A Nantucket Bouquet’ 8×10 pastel ©2012 Karen Margulis
I have Nantucket sand in my shoes. My Grandfather was born and raised on Nantucket Island. A few years ago I did our family genealogy and discovered we go back to the founding fathers of the island. I also discovered a treasure….an unknown cousin who has lived on Nantucket all of his life and along with his father built many of the island homes. I have been to visit him a couple of times and hope to go back.
Nantucket is the most beautiful and inspiring place just full of magical landscapes. Nantucket has it all….beautiful beaches both wild and tame, harbors full of colorful boats, lighthouses, a wonderful town that takes you right back to the 1700′s…cobblestone streets, gas lights and window boxes filled with flowers. But that is not all…the interior of the island has magical moors and meadows filled with wilflowers, misty marshes, ponds filled with waterlilies. Not to mention the birds and other wildlife. I could spend an entire summer soaking up and painting the beauty of this island. To see more Nantucket paintings please visit my daily painting blog HERE
Winter Pastel on Textured Surface
‘Winter Creek’ 8×10 pastel ©Karen Margulis
I love experimenting with new techniques. When I read the recent Pastel Journal article about Robert Carsten and how he uses homemade pastel grounds I knew I had to try them. I decided to go for the thickest ground. I wanted to get the most texture possible. I mixed a smaller amount since I only had one 8×10 piece of gatorboard to coat.
The recipe for the Thick Paste-like Ground calls for 1 cup of Golden’s Light or Coarse Molding paste mixed with 1/8 to 1/4 cup of water with 4 tablespoons of grit added. I painted my board first with Golden Fluid Acrylic and when this was dry I applied my ground mixture. It made a wonderful textured board with lots of exciting brush marks! If you would like to see more behind the scene photos of this painting visit my daily painting blog.