Many subscribers have been asking me, “When are your next pastel workshops?!” So I’m pleased to tell you about a number of them that are coming up.

First there’s the three I’ll be teaching at the Pastel Artists Canada Conference, then two pastel workshops on Salt Spring Island in August, and then there’s the potential one next year in France (but I’ll need your help to make that happen!). There’s also a teaser…..

PASTEL WORKSHOPS

PAC CONFERENCE

I’m thrilled to be teaching and demoing 31st May and 3rd June at the Pastel Artists Canada’s upcoming Conference in Aurora, Ontario. I know a number of you have written to tell me you’ll be there. That’s so cool.

Here’s what you’ll learn from me:

Painting with a Limited Palette – 1/2 day pastel workshop

Tuesday 31st May, 1-4pm

“Often we feel we need a whole heap of pastels to make a successful painting. Certainly it’s wonderful to have a large selection to choose from but what happens when you’re painting en plein air, or travelling, or trying out a new brand’s starter box? Is it possible to create using only a small number of pastels? In this workshop, we’ll do various exercises to see the possibilities and potential in the limited palette we have. We’ll look into the idea of values and how understanding values can override the need to have the exact colour. And in the end, we’ll create a painting of a simple still life set up (one or two fruits/veg eg two pears or a sweet pepper) with this limited palette.”

The Art Business in a Multimedia Market  – 1/2 day workshop

Friday 3rd June, 9am-12 noon

“We’ve all heard we need to be online but it all sounds overwhelming not to mention, too much work. What do you really need to be doing online? What’s going to work for you? In this workshop, we’ll touch on many different online platforms and strategies including blogging, social media (Facebook, Google +, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram), Facebook advertising, and YouTube. We’ll dig into why we need to be online and brainstorm some action plans for you to take away. This workshop will be a combination of lecture, visuals, Q&A, and breakout interactive groups.”

Getting to the Bottom of Values – Demonstration

Friday 3rd June, 2-4pm

“We all talk about the importance of values but do we really know what that means? In this demo, I’m going to show you in as many ways possible, just what Values are and why they are so important. Want a better painting? Know your values! Want to up your use of colour but are afraid to? Know your values! Want to create more realistic looking objects? Know your values! Yes, so much of painting comes down to a real understanding of this thing we call values. We’re gonna dive deep!”

Register soon! Click here!!

I was also happy to have a pastel of mine, “Poppies,” chosen for the back cover of the Conference brochure.

PASTEL WORKSHOPS ON SALT SPRING ISLAND, BC, CANADA

I will be offering two pastel workshops at ArtSpring in August. I don’t have the details yet but I think you can tell by the titles that one’s about painting on location, the other is about pushing colour!!

The room is small so classes will be limited to six. Interested? Let me know NOW!

If you’re unsure, no worries. I’ll let you know more as soon as I have the details. This is to whet your appetite 🙂

5th-7th August 2016 – 3-day workshop – “Painting En Plein Air”

13th & 14th August 2016 – 2-day workshop – “Ramping Up Your Colour” 

POSSIBLE PLEIN AIR PASTEL WORKSHOP IN FRANCE!

I have an opportunity to teach a plein air workshop in Provence, France in 2017!!! Yes France!!! I’m totally excited about this. I LOVE France and can hardly wait to lead a small group of students (min 7, max 12) in a workshop that will cover all the ins and outs of painting in pastels on location. It will be a workshop for all levels of experience.

The workshop is organized by French Escapades and from what I’ve heard and read, they do an amazing job to make sure you have the best time ever. Click here to read all about it on their website. The cost covers the workshop with me, the accommodation, most of the food, transportation to and from painting sites. I can’t wait!! What I need though is a strong expression of interest. The cost is US$3,190 (early bird rate). So that gives you lots of time to save up for what I know will be an amazing experience 🙂 Please pass this information on to anyone you think might be interested in a French Painting getaway!

So let me know if you are at all interested. No commitment yet – I’m just trying to gauge interest.

AND ONE MORE THING!

I’m hard at work finishing up recording a new online course. I’m pretty pumped!! I am hoping to release it in the next two months so look out for news of that!

Further To The Thérèse Schwartze Blog

I’m delighted to tell you that Cora Hollema sent me another pastel for the Thérèse Schwartze blog. It’s found in the postscript section right at the very end. Go check it out. There’s a great story with it!

And that’s it for this week. Please register for the Conference workshops by clicking here. If you’re interested in the Salt Spring and/or the France workshops, please let me know!

Next week, look out for another guest blog!

Until then,

~ Gail