Animal Pastels with Mariah Sotelino

Description

Come create colorful animal portraits in pastel with Illustrator, Mariah Sotelino! Learning to draw animals using the gloriously colorful and texture-rich medium of pastels is very satisfying! Mariah will take your young artist step by step through the process of creating realistic animal portraits using the grid method. Each class will begin with warm ups that emphasize building strong drawing muscles. Each class will have two demos for working from a photo reference of an animal portrait. This class will improve your young artist's observational abilities, clarify their understanding of color choices, perspective, and the value scale. Your young artists will work at their own pace, with specific feedback from Mariah to help them learn and grow into observant, knowledgable, and confident artists. Teacher Bio: Mariah P Sotelino is a naturalist, an educator, and an environmentalist. Mariah studied Conservation Biology at Swarthmore College and is obsessed with the intersection of science and art. Mariah has a Masters in Illustration from Maryland Institute College of Art. Mariah is a member of The Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators, The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators, and The Society of Illustrators. Mariah’s goal as an art teacher is to motivate artists to find their own “voice”. With a nurturing personality and a contagious smile, Mariah will encourage you to gather specific, repeatable tools for your own artistic toolbox to express yourself. Supplies included in tuition fee. Class dates: 1/29, 2/5, 2/12, 2/19, 2/26, 3/5. Class cancellation due to instructor illness or inclement weather will have a make up day on 3/12. Photo credit: "Leopard" by Mariah P. Sotelino, 2025.