Friday Fun: Embrace Paper that you Hate

'Discovering the Magic'       9x12      pastel       �Karen Margulis
available $145

Hate is a strong word. I try not to use it. Maybe I should say strongly dislike but when you are painting on a paper that you struggle with it is easy to say the 'H' word! I am often asked about my pastel paper preferences....my likes and dislikes. I try to be diplomatic with my answer because everyone has their own preference. If I hear a student complain about a paper brand I usually try to encourage them to find a way to make the paper work....try another pastel type for example. 

But I am going to share a deep dark secret......I do have a paper that I strongly dislike. I today I thought it would be fun to confront my aversion and make it work. And in the end I discovered something new.....I don't really dislike the paper at all!

my reference photo

Usually when we don't like the way a paper is performing it is because we just don't have enough experience working with it. Remember the first time you tried your favorite paper? Was it love at first mark? Did it take some time to discover the idiosyncrasies of the paper? Often we give up on a paper before we discover what works best with it.

For today's Friday Fun painting I decided to try a piece of my nemesis.....Art Spectrum Colourfix. It has not been a favorite of mine and so I haven't bought any in years. I was recently given some paper and pastels (more on this soon) and there was a pack of Colourfix in the pile.  It was time to revisit this paper. Scroll down to see the progress on this light blue piece of colourfix 9x12.

Now it is your turn. Do yo have a paper that you strongly dislike? Maybe you have a piece or two hidden away somewhere. I challenge you to have some fun and try painting it this weekend. You might be pleasantly surprised as I was. Colourfix wasn't as challenging as I remembered it.

*****The response to my question about signing your work has been fantastic. I will need more time to compile all of your answers. Thank you so much for your response!