Mini Week... Painting Large from a Small Color Study

'Late Afternoon Show'             22x28             pastel           ©Karen Margulis
painting available $500

 Shark Week was good but Mini Week is even better!  What is Mini Week?  It is a celebration of painting small pastel paintings, the 2.5 x 3.5 inch paintings commonly known as Artist Trading Cards.  This week my pastel classes will be working on minis and learning just how helpful they can be.

This week I will be sharing tips for painting minis....why, how and what to do with them when you are finished. Today I am sharing my demo form my workshop for the Appalachian Pastel Society. I used one of my mini pastels for the demo.

inspiration

 One of my favorite uses for mini pastel paintings is to use them as  studies for larger paintings. It is less daunting to approach a big piece of pastel paper if you have a plan for the painting. I often have ideas for compositions and colors that differ from the photo.

 I don't always know if my ideas are good though.  It helps to test out the potential ideas in a small painting. The 2.5 x 3.5 size is perfect for this. It is too small to get too caught up in details but big enough to paint the big simple shapes and try out the color palette.

I often take this idea even further.....I will often paint some minis for relaxation and then choose my favorites to paint larger....no reference photos are used for the larger paintings....only the small studies.

color study 2.5 x 3.5

The demo in progress for the Appalachian Pastel Society

Stay tuned this week for more ideas on painting small!

TRY THIS:  Join me this week and paint some minis. Cut some scrap pastel paper into pieces that measure 2l5 x 3l5 inches.  Gather some reference photos and get ready to paint! If you are looking for ideas and a detailed demo have a look at my pdf demo in my etsy shop.