![\"Karen](\"https:\/\/www.howtopastel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/kmargulis_Beautifulending-copy.jpg\")
<\/a><\/a>Before handing you over to Karen Margulis, first, a bit about her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Karen Margulis Bio <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Karen Margulis<\/a> is a contemporary landscape painter. She works in most painting media but has achieved recognition for her pastel paintings. She has exhibited her award-winning work around the world and has been reviewed by Pastel Journal <\/em>for her wildflower paintings. She is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America and an Eminent Pastelist recipient of the International Association of Pastel Societies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Take it away Karen!<\/p>\n\n\n\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the beginning of each workshop I teach, I talk to the artists about style. Most come to my workshops because they want to loosen up and move away from being too caught up in copying their reference photos. I talk to them about the art journey we are all on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Our personal style and preferences fall on a scale from pure abstract all the way to photorealism. We might move up and down the scale as we grow as artists but these shifts are usually small and incremental in one direction or another. I have always been just to the left of the middle of the scale. My landscape paintings were representational but by no means photorealistic. I would characterize my style as suggested realism. It hasn\u2019t changed from the day I picked up my first pastel back in 2005. My paintings have become more refined but didn\u2019t move too far on the scale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Until now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There has been a nagging little voice that has been tempting me to the abstract side of the scale. It started several years ago but any attempts I made to try abstract painting were disappointing failures. I just didn\u2019t understand how to paint a successful abstract. I put that nagging voice on the back burner and continued painting my representational landscapes. But something shifted this year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The year began as usual with a list of art goals. As I usually do, I asked my Patreon group what they wanted to explore. Abstracts were near the top of the list. I added it to my list and figured I needed to learn more about abstracts so we could explore them together. As luck would have it I saw that Larry Moore was offering a six-week online course on abstract painting. I had his book Fishing for Elephants<\/a><\/em> and he was highly recommended as an instructor so I signed up. It was perfect timing and just the push I needed. At the time I had no idea how this decision would change the course of my art journey!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I loved the online course with Larry Moore. I loved the homework assignments and the weekly critique sessions. I realized just how little I knew about abstracts and I was like a sponge each week soaking up knowledge and totally devoting myself the homework assignments. I was seeing abstract designs everywhere. I was dreaming about the abstracts I would paint the next day. It was totally invigorating and exciting. I was hooked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We painted with gouache for the course assignments. That was fun but I wanted to translate what I was learning into pastel. So when the course ended, I began my exploration of what I had learned about abstraction only now with my pastels. It was as if an entire new world was open and I couldn\u2019t get enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Throughout the winter my experiments with abstract pastel painting continued but in private. It was a secret I wasn\u2019t quite ready to share. I continued painting in my usual style for my demos and Patreon lessons but whenever I had the chance, I played with abstracts. By the spring I felt like I was onto something with the abstracts. I was hitting my stride and finding ways to abstract the subjects I was most known for\u2026..landscape with wildflowers. It was the beginning of my Floral Fantasy series. It was time to share them. That was the tricky part. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I had worked hard to build a reputation as a master of pastels. My representational \u2018suggested realism\u2019 landscapes brought me recognition. I achieved signature status with the Pastel Society of America and Eminent Pastelist status with the International Association of Pastel Societies. I developed a following on social media and started a Youtube and Patreon channel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Artists were interested in learning from me\u2026..how to paint with more expression was a favourite workshop topic. But I wasn\u2019t known for painting abstracts. How would this go over with my followers? Was it okay to make such a drastic leap on that abstract to photorealism scale? I had always shared everything about my art journey\u2026.the good, bad and the ugly! I started a blog back in 2005 to share my journey so I wasn\u2019t shy about sharing. I just needed to find the right balance. I had an idea!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spring arrived and it was exhibition season. There are a few exhibitions that I like to enter every year and I typically enter a landscape with wildflowers. This year I decided I would enter some of my new abstracts. I selected a few that I felt good about and hit the enter button. And then I waited. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To my surprise and delight, I had entered four exhibitions and I had an abstract selected for all four. Two ended up winning awards. It was a validating experience but the moment of truth would come when they were seen for the first time by my peers and my collectors! I was excited and a little bit nervous when I entered the gallery at the IAPS exhibition which was held during the June convention. I saw my abstract \u2018Wonderland\u2019 hanging among so many other amazing paintings. Would anyone be surprised that it was mine? <\/p>\n\n\n\n I learned an important lesson during that convention. It is okay to move around on the style scale and it is a good thing to stay unpredictable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What do I mean? I was pleasantly surprised to get a great reaction to my abstract painting in the show from my peers and mentors at the convention. One of the comments I got that really stuck with me is that I was not predictable\u2026.that it was a good thing to push and explore and not be afraid to share work that is not what everyone knows and expects. I never thought of myself as unpredictable but it does sound exciting! <\/p>\n\n\n\n So now I am embracing the idea of being unpredictable but what about that scale I\u2019ve been talking about? I always thought that we might move in between abstract and photorealism but not that I would be in more than one place at the same time. Now I know that it is not only possible but that working in two styles is helping me improve both styles of painting. One informs the other. I take what I know about creating strong realistic paintings and apply them to abstracts. Both require knowing how to effectively use composition, value, color, and more. Playing with abstraction allows me greater expression with my more realistic work. Moving between the two styles helps me and inspires me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I recently read a post by the late Robert Genn on style and moving between styles. He shared the story of an artist who felt the need to choose a style and stick with it versus the artist who moved around and experimented with more than one style. Here is a quote from Mr Genn that speaks to me: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy advice? When you are going in a certain direction, go hard. Give it everything you\u2019ve got. Also, look at your focus work as exploration, not product. When your flame burns down, smile, start again on another.\u201d<\/p>\n~ Robert Genn<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n I am going to take that advice and run with it. My abstract flame is still burning and I can\u2019t wait to see where it leads me. I will be taking an in-person workshop this fall with Larry Moore on painting large abstracts. I\u2019ll be bringing my pastels!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think what I am loving the most about abstracts is that I can play to my heart\u2019s content. I don\u2019t think I have used the same process more than once. I begin each painting with a different approach and then let the painting tell me what it needs. Many of them have been done on top of failed paintings that I have washed with rubbing alcohol. The ghost image guides my marks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes I begin with a line drawing with black charcoal or black pastel and then begin building layers. The painting then goes through many layers of wet and dry layers. I put in a lot but end up covering it up to simplify and make a stronger composition. I am always thinking about how the viewer\u2019s eye will move around the painting. I am also conscious of variation in my shapes, values, color, and mark making. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I am still exploring of course but for inspiration, I am drawing on my past representational paintings and the reference photos that inspired them. I find myself looking at my photos in a different light. I am looking at closeup sections to see the design and the interesting shapes and patterns. I incorporate these shapes into the early layers of the painting and then I set the photo aside. My photos and past paintings also inspire the colour palettes I use. Often I will paint a regular landscape and then do another abstract version using the same pastels. I have also done it the other way around! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here is a typical progression. These are the steps I took for my painting \u2018Into the Wild\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>\n
<\/a><\/a>Information on my abstract process <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>\n
<\/a>\n
<\/a>\n
<\/a>\n
<\/a>\n