Intro to (soft) Pastel Painting: Session 1

(PDF SYLLABUS CAN BE DOWNLOADED BY CLICKING HERE)-note syllabus is subject to reorganizing to create a more cohesive presentation)

Class Limit 7 people: Minimum 5
Materials List: A set of Soft Pastels. Here is link to a shared Amazon list with suggested beginner sets if you do not already own a set.
Amazon shared list of pastel sets for beginners

All of the content offered in this class is what I have learned through the excellent online tutelage of Karen Margulis. You can find her videos on YouTube, but, if you are serious about learning, I highly recommend becoming a Patron of Karen on the Patreon.com website. It is $6 a month for a treasure trove of videos, articles, reviews and the ability to ask her questions, post your paintings for critique, etc.

Session 1 Syllabus:

About Pastels : What are soft pastels? How are they made? Why are they an attractive medium?
About Pastel Supports (SUPPORT: The surface on which a work of two-dimensional art is made i.e.: canvas, paper, cardboard, or wood):
Papers:
- Unsanded
- Sanded;
- Toned
- White
Pastel Studio Setup
Mounting the paper to the easel
About SOFT Pastel types:
- soft
- medium
- hard
- Pan pastels
- nupastels 
Pastel Techniques
- Mark Making
  - shouting vs
  - whispering
  - Stippling
  - Layering
  - Hatching
  - Other  methods
Cleaning your pastels
Framing your pastels
- Matted
- Unmatted

Practice mark making on Canson Mi Tientes paper and sample sanded paper 
Under Painting methods: dry, alcohol wash, watercolor or acrylic  (no fail approach (see link to video below)–four values of one color family)
Using workable fixatives

Major Composition Ideas:
1) Value (value does the work but color gets the glory)
2) Visual Path/Rule of Thirds

Quick still life painting of an apple or pear with no under painting (Canson Mi Tientes) and then with a dry underpainting (if time allows) on Pastel Mat white paper

PASTEL BASICS: Hands on about pastel painting
Great supplies websites:
DAKOTAPASTELS.com
TERRYLUDWIG.COM

Good sites for learning:
Artistsnetwork.com

ARTISTS WITH GREAT INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE:
Karen Margulis
Alain Picard

TUTORIALS
Soft Pastel Techniques

Pastel Painting For Beginners: Pastel Painting 101

VIDEOS ON MARK MAKING:

Mark Making (short): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FzlrnXdSbs
Landscape Mark Making: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hCcHz3uJnA
Flower Mark Making:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBPjm7RBfD0

Two Apples – Pastel Still Life by Lorna McLaughlin

AT HOME PRACTICE

At Home for Practice and Learning:
SIMPLE QUICK PAINTING KAREN MARGULIS: Paint with Karen
Try a Simple Pastel Painting in 20 Minutes. It’s Playtime!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Lc899r81u4&t=11s

Watch:Karen Margulis:still life :3 pears: September intro and demo
https://youtu.be/2LAzp9gsQSU?si=gkVk9K22k3BEYkAX

No Fail Way to Start a Pastel Painting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvQKBEFh6Ds