I am delighted to announce that I have been asked to deliver a four day Introduction to Pastels workshop at the well-known Gibsons School of the Arts this coming summer, from August 1-4.
This four-day workshop will introduce students to the brilliance and possibilities of soft (“chalk”) pastels. Students will complete 2-3 landscape paintings and go home with a starter set of high-quality pastels and a workbook by the instructor. Additionally, they will learn the 5 critical elements of design, and how to apply these to painting in any medium.
By the conclusion of the workshop, students will be able to
1) trace the history of soft pastels as a fine art medium;
2) identify the supplies required to complete successful pastel paintings;
3) apply the elements of Concept, Composition, Contrast, Colour, and Clarity to the creation of pastel paintings;
4) create pastel paintings that make use of a variety of underpainting techniques;
5) describe the proper handling and framing of finished works in soft pastel;
6) identify sources of further learning related to this unique medium.
Registration is limited and is filling up—go to http://gibsonsartschool.net/register.html to register by Feb 28th and get the early-bird rate of $500 (on March 1, it goes up to $550). There is an additional $100 materials fee payable at the time of the workshop, which covers all art supplies for the session and provides a starter set of pastels and an instructional workbook to support your further studies.
As my studio lesson schedule is currently full, this is your best chance of learning about this medium in a concentrated time frame, with a reasonable initial outlay for supplies. Hope to see you there!
