Nantucket Beach Roses 8×10 pastel

January 24, 2012 by Karen Margulis

‘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

Posted in Daily paintings, Landscapes, Seascapes | 1 Comment

Winter Pastel on Textured Surface

January 22, 2012 by Karen Margulis

‘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.

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Taos Meadow 8×10 pastel

January 19, 2012 by Karen Margulis

‘Taos Meadow’              8×10              pastel                    ©Karen Margulis

This painting is a second version of a scene from a trip to Taos. For this painting I raised the horizon line so I could show more of the interesting desert plants. I have been painting on Pastelmat which is an interesting surface. It feels soft and velvety but it holds a lot of pastel. You can read more about my experience with Pastelmat on my daily painting blog ‘Painting my World’.

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Nantucket Beach Paintings

January 16, 2012 by Karen Margulis

‘Nantucket Dunes’            8×10            pastel

‘Nantucket Beach Dreams’               8×10             pastel

You have a nice photo that you want to paint. But it just nice….nothing special or exciting. How can you make it have more impact? Change the horizon! Take a good look at that reference photo. Where is the horizon? If it is right in the middle than move it up or down….or do a painting with each point of view. It is usually not a good composition with the picture divided in half. You don’t want equal emphasis on the sky and the land. That is boring and often the viewer isn’t sure where to look first.

  • Spice things up by choosing what you want to be more important. When I look at a scene one of the first things I decide is if I want the painting to be about the sky or about what’s happening on the ground. Each choice will have an entirely different mood and feeling. I like to do thumbnail sketched and try out my choices. It is challenging to break away from a literal interpretation of the photo but a simple change of horizon will open up many possibilities for a more interesting painting.

I decided to to paint two versions of my Nantucket Island Beach scene. In the top painting It is more about the dunes and grasses. The sky is softened and downplayed. In the bottom painting, I moved the horizon down so I could focus on the sky. I added more interest with some clouds and downplayed the grasses. What a fun and easy way to break free from copying a boring photo!
PS Both paintings are done on Pastelmat paper which I will be reviewing here this week so be sure to sign up for updates.

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Two Red Poppies pastel 5×7

January 14, 2012 by Karen Margulis

‘Poppy Love’                   5×7                 pastel              ©Karen Margulis

Painting red flowers can be tricky. How do you make them rich and colorful? How do you make them have depth? How can you paint them so they pop off the paper. I want you to feel like you can pick my flowers. It helps to have the right colors especially with pastels. While you can layer and create new colors with pastels, to make really vibrant flowers, you need to have the right vibrant pastels. Terry Ludwig makes the most luscious rich vibrant reds. I like to use his pastels and some others from Great American. They make up my ‘go to’ reds. Use the darkest coolest reds first and layer your reds getting warmer in the ‘sunlit’ areas. You want to use warmer reds…..not lighter reds (pinks). Also you can surround the red flowers with cooler greens and blues which will help intensify the reds.

To see more tips on getting your Poppies to Pop visit my blog.

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Kiawah Island Marsh View 8×10 pastel on Canson Touch

January 12, 2012 by Karen Margulis

‘Peaceful Moment’               8×10           pastel        ©Karen Margulis

I am enjoying the new paper by Canson. It is Canson Mi-Teintes Touch, a new sanded surface. I like how it feels and the soft look I am getting in my paintings. I have written a detailed review in my blog. I always love to try new materials and this has been a great discovery!

purchase painting with Paypal  $145

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Nantucket Landscape on Canson Mi-Teintes

January 11, 2012 by Karen Margulis

‘Nantucket Path’            11×14         pastel         ©Karen Margulis

I have been enjoying Canson paper lately. I was inspired to try it again after seeing some wonderful work painted on Canson. I really like the soft feel of the paper and the resulting effect in my work. I have written a review of my experience with Canson on my blog, Painting my World, if you are interested in reading more.

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New Mexico Landscape…Top Paintings of 2011

December 30, 2011 by Karen Margulis

‘Desert Dreams II’                 11×14                pastel      ©Karen Margulis

The paintings I have chosen to be my favorites all represented a personal accomplishment. For this painting I was happy that I was able to interpret the bushes and desert plants without putting in too much detail. I was happy to leave a lot of the oil stain underpainting. I enjoyed using Terry Ludwig’s Arid Landscape set exclusively for this painting. If you have some Christmas money and you are looking to buy a nice set of pastels, check out the Arid Landscape set by Terry Ludwig. I have discovered that it isn’t just for arid landscapes. It is a wonderful and versatile set!

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My Top 6 Favorite Pastel Paintings of 2011

December 28, 2011 by Karen Margulis

‘Blue Sailors’                5×7            pastel           ©Karen Margulis

Today I am sharing a little 5×7 painting called ‘Blue Sailors’. I like the colors of the blue flowers which I saw on my 2010 road trip to Wyoming. I would love a field of these wildflowers! I like this painting because it came to me effortlessly and with total abandon. I was truly ‘in the zone’ when I painted this one. It reminds me of my 5×7 Early Morning Poppies which won an award in the PSA show in 2010. I had the same feelings when I painted that one. Everything just flowed. Sometimes you think you’ll never get that feeling again and then a painting just comes to you like this one did. I suppose it doesn’t even matter if no one else likes it. It felt good when I painted it and that is what I like about it. It reminds me that it can happen again!

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Morning Marsh on Kiawah Island 12×24 pastel painting

December 20, 2011 by Karen Margulis

‘Morning Marsh’     12×24       pastel

I love the softness and colors of early morning and on this particular morning they were especially lovely.  Soft and quiet and very peaceful…this is what I remember about this morning on Kiawah Island.  I have put together some photos that show the progression of this painting. I invite you to view the demo HERE.

Posted in Daily paintings, Marshes | 1 Comment