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Nancy Nowak  Gaining Mastery in Pastel Nancy began by emphasizing the importance of establishing a strong foundation from the outset and finding the story you want to convey to your audience. We used simple tools to crop reference photos and explore subjects from new perspectives. She stressed the value of value studies, as they force you to think critically about your artistic process. Nancy's underpainting techniques included using a combination of alcohol and watercolor, as well as watercolor alone. The entire three-day workshop was highly educational and enjoyable, thanks to Nancy Nowak's extraordinary knowledge, generosity, and skill as an instructor. Thank you, Nancy, for this wonderful learning experience. www.nancynowak.com Laura Pollack
What a fantastic 3 days we had with Desmond! Each day was filled with demos, time at our easels and talks about turning our art into a business and the tools for success. Desmond started each day with a talk and or slide show to emphasize the importance of value, temperature shifts and intensity of color. We then had time at our easels to practice with his expert help. He offered individual critiques that were invaluable. Desmond also gave us insight on how to be our own best critic….one method was to simply turn the painting and reference image upside down to check our work! On our second day, we had a wonderful field trip to the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum and took the opportunity to paint outdoors! What an incredible venue! As we sat in awe to watch him paint, he spoke about his method and reiterated the importance of seeing shapes and quality of line and color. He willingly shared his knowledge on the current business climate for artists and how to best sell, frame and photograph our art work. From the beginner to the experienced artist, he offered a thorough presentation for everyone! By Donna Lynch Painting Structures |
Painting with Intention |  |
 | Capturing the Light Dec 1-3, 2021 Three great days of still life, landscape and plein air. This past week we had the pleasure of attending a wonderful workshop with Alain Picard. I very much enjoyed the in-studio exercise concentrating on capturing light and then a day plein air to better help us capture the true light! Alain had a wonderful teaching style mixed with great knowledge and a wonderful wit! - Donna Lynch |
Painterly LandscapeDec 4-5, 2021 Two wonderful days of studio and plein air landscapes. The recent Alain Picard workshop really helped me to turn a corner in my work. One thing about Alain's skill as an instructor is his ability to meet each student right where they are and help them to move forward with their unique work. He's full of encouragement, enthusiasm and the necessary expertise to pinpoint what each student needs to help them grow. I felt I moved further into my own unique style because of his guidance. - Ursula Schneider |  |
Thank you Phil for a wonderful, fun, and informative workshop. We have a much better understanding of composition and how to build a painting with thumbnails and color sketches based on values. We also explored using temperature to achieve the light and shadows. And so much more.....
March 14-16, 2019
Thank you, Aline, for a fantastic workshop. Working from our own photos, we learned how to simplify an image to enhance the composition, clarity and color technique. The photos show her 3 day demos that were just breath-taking.
Hola Aline,
What a great workshop!!! I learned so much….have a hero; work top to bottom; hold the pastel with three fingers; simplify…simplify; use charcoal for first stage, block in colors, then refine; suggest forms; eliminate clutter….and much more. You are such an accomplished artist and excellent teacher. Thank you for coming all the way out to Tucson…perhaps San Miguel next???
Lorie Topinka (Attendee and member from San Miguel de Allende, Mexico)
| November 8-10, 2018 Thank you, Christine Ivers, for a fabulous workshop. The workshop focused on Christine’s graphing technique that you can use with nightscapes or any complicated scene and how colors respond on the black surface. Everyone made their own surface with black gatorboard and Art Spectrum Colorfix Pastel and Multimedium Primer. Chris is so generous and shares her knowledge of art, pastel and photography freely. Everyone learned so much and had such a good time!! The photos at the left are the projects from the workshop. Some are finished, and some need additional work in the studio. All attendees were impressed with their ability to now create the proper perspective for building and complicated vistas. | |
Mountains and Skies of Arizona in Pastel
Mar 8-10, 2018
Mountains and Skies was a fabulous three-day workshop with an outstanding instructor. The first day, we used photographic images of skies to create a pastel/alcohol underpainting by ‘seeing’ what the photograph hides. On day two, we ventured to Rio Vista Park on Tucson Ave. for a plein air event where Liz taught us to use a viewfinder to choose a scene to paint. We created a thumbnail sketch of the scene and then did a value drawing of the scene on our paper using charcoal. In the afternoon, we added pastel to our charcoal image and the results were amazing. Since the values were already determined it was great fun to just add color. On the third day, we worked with photographic images of mountains and skies, using all of the techniques we learned in the first two days. With endless energy and enthusiasm, Liz shared her process for creating art. She is truly a remarkable instructor and a wonderful person. Thank you so much, Liz!
Jan 8 - 12, 2018
Pastel Innovations: was an intense, fast paced and fun workshop that will changed the way we think about layering imagery, creating backgrounds, drawing, and incorporation non-traditional tools and techniques into our pastel painting. Dawn had many guided exercises and mini demos will provided us with maximum time to work, share information, and inspire each other. Dawns new book, "Pastel Innovations, " was the text book for the class. Great inspiration!
Capturing the Light - Field to Studio Workshop
Mar 2 - 4, 2017
The first day was spent at beautiful Tohono Chul Park learning how to simplify the landscape by focusing on the light and shadow patterns and gathering reference material. Then we spent the next two days painting in our building from field sketches and photos. We discussed how to edit and modify reference material. We worked on identifying the color and quality of light and may other aspects of working from field studies.
Thank you so much, Christine, for a wonderful workshop.
Thank you so much, Christine, for a wonderful workshop.
March 10 - 12, 2016
 | The workshop focused on field sketching and on underpainting with dry pastel, watercolor and impasto. This was not a class to finish paintings but to get a better understanding of how to start a painting with many creative ways. Richard gave us two ways to create the impression of impasto yet retain a stable final pastel surface. This technique gives your painting interesting texture. Where watercolor underpaintings give a serendipity approach to your application of pastel, impasto requires advance thought to the placement of the buildup of the acrylic gritted gesso. Richard is an amazing instructor and everyone taking this workshop went back to their daily painting with an abundance of new ideas and techniques. Thank you, Richard, for this opportunity to learn from a master! |
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March 24-26, 2016
This 3 day workshop opened up a whole new world for us and introduced us to new ways of thinking about our subjects. Dawn is a great teacher with lots of charisma and lot of of patience. She did a few demonstrations, helped each student one on one, showed us some new tools and we all left with a lot of new ideas on how to approach art.
The first day we practiced how to balance composition with a focus on the basic elements of design including: line, shape, value, edges, texture, space & color. We did a cubist drawing, then by modifying one element, it threw off the principles of design including: balance, unity, variety, contrast, emphasis, rhythm, movement (or direction), pattern, proportion (scale), which then had be readjusted. It was a great lesson on design because all of the elements affect each other and need to be carefully balanced..
The second day we were introduced to monoprints and created some of our own. Some were introduced to the basic vocabulary, techniques and materials used to create monoprints, while others already familiar with monoprints came to see it in a new light, using it as a pastel under-painting. The monoprint drawings were all in black and white but they gave us a wonderful value map and a lot of added texture that enhanced our pastel paintings.
The third day Dawn did a few demos, she approaches her paintings with an energy that is full of life and movement. She gave individual attention to each student and we were inspired to play. We left invigorated and now have a new way to approach making art!
dawnemerson.com
The first day we practiced how to balance composition with a focus on the basic elements of design including: line, shape, value, edges, texture, space & color. We did a cubist drawing, then by modifying one element, it threw off the principles of design including: balance, unity, variety, contrast, emphasis, rhythm, movement (or direction), pattern, proportion (scale), which then had be readjusted. It was a great lesson on design because all of the elements affect each other and need to be carefully balanced..
The second day we were introduced to monoprints and created some of our own. Some were introduced to the basic vocabulary, techniques and materials used to create monoprints, while others already familiar with monoprints came to see it in a new light, using it as a pastel under-painting. The monoprint drawings were all in black and white but they gave us a wonderful value map and a lot of added texture that enhanced our pastel paintings.
The third day Dawn did a few demos, she approaches her paintings with an energy that is full of life and movement. She gave individual attention to each student and we were inspired to play. We left invigorated and now have a new way to approach making art!
dawnemerson.com
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