SIMPLIFYING THE LANDSCAPE

PAINTING THE MARSH

A WORKSHOP WITH KAREN ELIZABETH MARGULIS

Welcome! It is a pleasure to be able to share some ideas for painting the many moods of the marshes. Whether you are painting the South Carolina Low Country or the marshes of the Jersey Shore, they all possess a simple beauty. We will learn ways to simplify and capture the essence of the marsh.

Often students ask me about my preferred materials so I have put together this handout. I am including links for more information about the materials and artists referenced during the workshop.

SUPPLIES USED IN TODAYS WORKSHOP

pastels: I am using an assortment of hard pastels which are a mix of Nupastels and Polychromos. These are used for the underpainting. My preferred soft pastels are a mix of Terry Ludwigs and Great Americans. I use Schminkes or Senneliers which are both very soft for any finishing touches.

paper: I am using UArt pastel paper 500 grit. It takes many layers of pastel and holds up nicely to wet techniques without buckling. I also like to use Ampersand Pastelbord for wet techniques as well as Wallis paper. I am using Wallis pro paper Belgian Mist for the quick studies. I like the warm grey tone when I don’t do any underpaintings.

underpainting supplies: Rubbing alcohol, an old stiff brush. (brushes get ruined on sanded paper)

misc supplies: artist tape, foamcore board, glassine paper and a black sharpie, small sketchbook, TomBow markers #N15, N55, N75

REFERENCES

Ann Templeton www.anntempleton.com

Duane Wakeham

Bob Rohm www.bobrohm.com

Stan Sperlak www. stansperlak.com

Bob Rohm ‘The Painterly Approach’

John F. Carlson ‘Carlson’s Guide to Landscape Painting’

Ann and Bob also have instructional DVDs. They are available at Dakota Pastels www.dakotapastels.com

STARTING A PASTEL PAINTING

using hard pastels and a turpenoid or alcohol wash

supply list:

sanded pastel paper that will accept a wash such as Wallis or UArt

rubbing alcohol or turpenoid

stiff brush

a selection of hard pastels such as Nupastels or Polychromos

soft pastels for finishing

procedure:

Begin the painting with a loose line drawing using a warm toned hard pastel. Think in terms of shapes and design, not things. Don’t worry about detail at this stage.

Fill in the main masses with the side of the hard pastels. Limit yourself to just four values even though you can see more. This will create a strong simple structure.

Scrub in the pastel with either water, alcohol or turpenoid *be thoughtful at this stage and take your time....push the paint around, be thoughtful about your brushstrokes, follow the form or direction of the shapes. Be mindful of nuances that you might be able to keep.* Let dry.

Reestablish the darks and put in the extremes...darkest dark, lightest light, most intense color and sharpest edge. You may be surprised at how finished the painting looks at this stage

The amount of color and level of detail to add is up to your preferences at this point.