Beginner Pastels with Jean Wolf

Description

Fall in love with soft pastels! Jean Wolf welcomes beginners to explore this uniquely expressive medium. Often called "painting with dry color," soft pastels offer instant gratification with vibrant pigments and a luxurious, buttery texture. Class Dates: 4/6, 4/13, 4/20, 4/27, 5/4, 5/11 No Class 5/18 Paint Great Falls and 5/25 Memorial Day Cancelled class due to instructor illness or inclement weather will be made up on June 1st. Often called "painting with dry color," soft pastels offer an immediate and expressive way to create stunning artwork with their rich pigments and buttery texture. In this workshop, you'll learn foundational techniques to confidently use this versatile medium. We'll cover everything from choosing the right pastels and paper to essential blending, layering, and mark-making methods. You'll discover how to achieve beautiful color transitions, create dynamic textures, and bring your subjects to life. Pastel Supplies List 2025: Pastels: a collection of around 100-120 soft pastels, varying in levels from high saturation/chroma to neutrals, and a good range of values in each color (light to dark). I recommend the HALF STICK set of Sennelier or Schminke. (We’ll cover additional brands in the first class.) Paper surfaces. We’ll be exploring various surfaces in the class. Bring your favorite to the first class. If you don’t have a favorite, I recommend UArt 500 grit as a good standard option or Pastelmat in a fairly light tone. Sketchbook. Any size that’s comfortable for you. I use mine for sketching and note taking. Black Ink Pen. There are many out there. I use Pigma Micron in various sizes, 005-01. Masking tape Wet Wipes 70% Rubbing Alcohol Inexpensive water color brush, size 10-12, for underpainting Optional (but encouraged for pre-paint sketching) iPad Grayscale markers. I recommend 4-5 distinct values. Tombow is a good brand. White Pen. I use a Gelly Roll for finer lines and a Faber-Castell Pit Artist Pen for thicker marks. Online retailers are the best sources for pastel supplies. I recommend DakotaPastels.com, jerrysartarama.com, plazaart.com The Art studio supplies easels, tables, and backing boards. Please feel free to contact me before classes begin if you have any questions about supplies. Email: jeanwolfarts@gmail.com