I always wonder how an artist works out a painting. How did they start? What steps did they go through? What colors did they use?  I love to watch an artist do a demo and I try to do a demo painting in all of my classes. I always learned the most from watching my teachers paint. Today I am sharing a photo collage of the painting I just finished on my daily painting blog HERE.   I am working on some wildflower studies for a large commission (30×40) I want to be sure my client and I agree on the colors and composition. This painting incorporates the flowers and colors she would like. I have a few more ideas to work on before I present them to her.

I returned from the 1st Annual Plein Air Convention with a commitment to learn oil painting. I have had all the supplies but haven’t managed to find the time in my schedule to take them out. So I set up an easel dedicated to oils in a corner of the studio and started painting. I plan to paint 5 small studies each week. I am having so much fun learning a new medium!

I have seen the light! Never has the benefits of painting outdoors been so clear to me. There are so many lessons I learned at the 1st Annual Plein Air Convention. It was inspiring, informative, motivating and just fun to be around so many people with the same passion for painting that I have. I will be sharing some of the wonderful things I learned over the next week but I would like to begin with the most important lesson. Painting en plein air really does help you see better.

The term “plein air” (derived from the French, “open air”) is used to describe painting that is done outdoors, directly from nature. Plein air painters seek to capture the varied, shifting effects of light and atmosphere on the landscape.

I have always enjoyed painting outdoors but I just didn’t make enough time to go out. I figured my photos would be good enough. But I know now that if I really want to become a better painter, I need to paint outdoors more often. If you would like to see more plein air paintings from my trip to the 1st Annual Plein Air Convention visit my daily painting blog here.

‘Renewal’                      11×14               pastel             ©Karen Margulis

I love painting bird nests. Pastels are the perfect medium for painting nests. You get to use the pastels sticks as a painting tool for the larger areas and as a drawing tool for the weaving of the nest. You can use both hard and soft pastels and paint and draw. What could be better! It is easy to get caught up with the details of the nest materials too soon so I follow the same procedure I use for all of my paintings. I work from big simple shapes down to the details and from dark rich color to the lighter colors. Read the details of this painting on my daily painting blog Painting my World.

The landscape of the Southwest is calling to me! I am so glad that I decided to attend the 1st Annual Plein Air Convention in Las Vegas. Next week I will have an opportunity to paint in Red Rock Canyon and I can’t wait. Not to mention all of the wonderful artists who will be there…both the instructors and the attendees.

I am working this week on desert landscapes so I can test my pastel box of colors that I plan to bring. Yesterday I did a painting that depicts the red rocks with intense late afternoon light. I was going for the glow on the rocks. You can see the painting HERE. For today’s painting I wanted to capture the more subtle colors of the desert. I did need to add a couple of new colors to my box so I am glad I am testing this week!

If you would like to see a step by step demo of this painting, visit my daily painting blog HERE

Robert Henri’s The Art Spirit is a book that every artist and art lover should have this book on the shelf. It is a book filled with the wisdom and advice of Henri who was a revered teacher and artist. The book is a collection of his teachings, notes and critiques. Read more about Robert Henri here http://roberthenrimuseum.org/
Not only does the book give Henri’s technical advice to painters, it is full of inspiring words of wisdom about life and art. It is the kind of book that can be picked up and opened to any page. Every page has a pearl of wisdom and gives food for thought. It is a book that can be read over and over. I keep my copy on my night stand and pick it up whenever I need a bit of inspiration. The quote about singing a picture is typical of the little gems on every page of the book.

Every Spring I am faced with the same challenge…. How to capture the beauty of the Spring landscape successfully in my paintings. On my daily painting blog I discussed the challenges we have in trying to paint the Spring landscape. Read more here.  Today I’d like to share some things that have helped me meet the challenge.

1. Do some advance planning. Do thumbnails to help you SIMPLIFY the busy Spring landscape.
2. Decide on a FOCAL AREA and develop it while leaving other areas with less detail. This is especially important when trying to paint flowering trees and shrubs….simplify the background by using colors in the same value so that they are soft and out of focus.
3. Try to focus in on one area of the landscape rather than trying to fit in all of the excitement into one painting. Plan on doing several paintings instead.
4. Try to zero in on one bush, flower or branch for a more intimate view of Spring.

Are you new to pastels or looking for a way to simplify your work? Why not try this simple method for starting a pastel painting. There are so many choices and options available to pastel artists these days…new papers and pastels open up great possibilities. It can be overwhelming. What paper to use? Underpaint or not? Sometimes it just feels good to go back to basics.  When I first started painting with pastels I was taught a very simple method for starting a pastel painting. If you’d like to read more about it and see my step by step demo please visit my daily painting blog here.

Are you a Squinter? I am a ‘sometimes squinter’. I try to remember to squint when I am painting but it is not as much of a habit as I know it should be. I do know that when I remember to squint I end up with a more successful painting. Why? Because squinting helps me simplify. And squinting is a free tool that goes everywhere with me! I can plan a painting based on strong simple shapes and value patterns because squinting helps me to remove the clutter of details.  For this painting, I squinted as I did my initial block in. If you would like to see my process, please visit my daily painting blog Painting my World.

Not only are butterflies beautiful they are often powerful symbols. Many cultures associate the butterfly with life, hope, change. They can also symbolize celebration and journeys. I have heard many stories of Monarch butterflies appear after the death of a loved one. I have had the privilege of painting this beautiful butterfly in pastel.  I have shared a step by step demo on my blog. I invite you to have a look HERE