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| 'Over the Dunes' 8x10 pastel �Karen Margulis available $145 |
I've been told that I am fast and loose. A fast and loose painter that is! It may certainly appear that way but the truth is I am not so much a fast painter as I am an efficient painter. My paintings progress rapidly because I spend time BEFORE picking up a pastel making an action plan for the painting. Armed with a concept, value map and color palette I can approach the paper and simply paint with passion.
A plan allows me to let go and explore without fear of getting totally lost. A plan is my map or my GPS. Will I get there without a map? Sure, but it may take me a lot longer and may not be as enjoyable. A plan can save many hours of frustration and brushing off paintings.
Everyone has their own way of approaching a painting. Some enjoy detailed planning and some of us would rather wing it. I am somewhere in the middle with my planning. But there are some 'must do' items.
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| The finished painting with my plans attached |
- What is my Concept? I always like to begin the plan with asking myself what I want my message to be. What do I want the viewer to see or experience when looking at my painting?
- SIMPLIFY. Next I do a small 3-4 value thumbnail. I simplify my photo or scene if painting plein air into a few simple shapes and assign each shape a value.
- Decide on Color Palette and SELECT MY PASTELS. I pull the pastels I want to use and put them together in a butcher tray. This way I can see if there is color harmony. I like to take an additional step in my planning process to paint a small color study. I like to see if the colors I selected work together. I like to use a 2.5 x 3.5 inch format for the color studies.
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| Using the small thumbnail to start the painting |
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| Starting the painting with a value block in. |
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