Using outdoor sketches and photographs, Margaret will show she encapsulates the complexities of outdoor painting to produce simple, but dramatic subjects for painting. Using wet & dry pastel techniques, using acrylics or gouache for underpainting, the development of the pastel painting can show as much depth & painterly qualities as oils, without losing its’ own characteristics. Students should bring their own pastels in any type or brand, hard or soft, & samples will be available of different paper brands to try out. As well as landscapes, portraits & figures can be included in the workshop demonstrations. Contact psaoffice@pastelsocietyofamerica.org for booking & details.

‘”Wet & Dry Pastels / Photo to Sketch to Painting”
Debarry Studio Ten in Florham Park, New Jersey USA
12 – 14 March 2012

Margaret will show methods of simplifying the subject whether it be landscape / figurative / floral etc and following some basic rules to help you tackle the challenges of conveying 3 dimensions with a broadness & freedom to your work. Photographs can supply the inspiration, studies supply the energy & enthusiasm required to paint stunning paintings. Margaret will cover dry pastel techniques, as well as under-painting with gouache, spirits, or simply adding water to create a wide variety of different effects. Critiques will supplement the workshop to help students receive individual advice on their various levels of ability. All levels are welcome – even complete beginners. Bring any pastels you already have – there is no need to have particular brands or colours. Bring photos and sketches, ideas for paintings, an open mind and a sense of humour. If you have watercolors or gouache, bring these too, and a selection of types of paper you may already use or prefer. Contact Christina Debarry at debarrystudio@gmail.com for bookings & details.

“Indoor Painting with a Plein-Air Feeling”
York Art Association PA
3-day Workshop, 16-18 March 2012

Margaret will be back to blow you away with her wet & dry pastel techniques which incorporate oil & watercolor techniques showing the complete versatility of pastel as a medium. Therefore, this workshop can be attended by watercolourists, oil painters, acrylics etc., as well as staunch pastel supporters. From landscapes, townscapes, still life, floral, portrait & figure, bring your own photographs and sketches of your favourite subjects to work out how to paint with a fresh, done-it-from-life approach. Bring an open mind, sense of humour & learn lots of new techniques & information to make your own paintings come alive. Contact Kay Koehler at klkstudio@yahoo.com for booking & details.

Margaret @ Palm Key, South Carolina USA
Pastel workshop 21-23 March & Mixed Media Workshop 24-25 March 2012

Join internationally acclaimed artist Margaret Evans in March 2012 for a five-day workshop in the South Carolina “Low Country”, an area which boasts beautiful subjects in nature, architecture, landscapes, and waterscapes. Margaret will combine a three-day pastel and a two-day mixed media class. Attend either workshop or join your host for both. Meet your instructor and fellow artists in a quiet and relaxed social setting amid the Live Oak trees and Spanish Moss. Visit www.palmkey.com to discover the South Carolina Low Country charms of your workshop’s host facility. E-mail michael-hargraves@nc.rr.com for details.

“Versatility of Wet and Dry Pastels”
Hudson River Valley Art Workshops – Greenville NY
August 18 – 21, 2012
Level: All Levels 3-Day Outdoor/Studio Class

In this workshop, Margaret shows the versatility of pastels as a serious painting medium. She will demonstrate the sketching quality of the medium, & also the intensity of colour when mixed with other media to paint substantial painterly techniques. In the studio you will learn about the wide range of pastel brands & their uses, as well as how to work on paintings from the information collected plein air. Margaret will demonstrate on location in pen/wash, watercolor & pastels, and in studio with oil and/or gouache with pastels. A mass of information and techniques crammed into 3 hard working days with the full board package of delicious food, accommodation & house party atmosphere unique to HRV! Book through klapolla@artworkshops.com.

“The Challenges of the Landscape”
Margaret @ Terry Ludwig Studio, Littleton, Colorado
4 day Studio / Plein Air Workshop
August 23 – 26th 2012

Margaret will show you her methods of simplifying the landscape and following some basic rules to help you tackle the challenges of plein-air painting in any weather, when conditions can add extra challenges to the artist, in heat, wind and even snow – after all , she comes from Scotland! Lively, spontaneous field studies supply the energy & enthusiasm required to paint great landscapes in the studio, and indoor sessions will also show you how to utilise those outdoor studies, and turn them into stunning paintings. Margaret will cover dry pastel techniques, as well as under-painting with gouache, spirits, or simply adding water to create a wide variety of different effects. Critiques will supplement the workshop to help students receive individual advice on their various levels of ability. All levels are welcome – even complete beginners.

This is an ideal opportunity to work with Margaret, learn her techniques & teaching methods, and have fun discovering the landscape of Colorado. Plenty of great advice, good company, fantastic scenery & any husbands wanting a game of golf can join Margaret’s husband too, while we all paint! Together with the location, and temptations of Terry Ludwig’s own Pastel Factory, this is TOO TEMPTING to resist!!  Book through Margaret at margaret@shinafoot.co.uk. – Payments can be sent by Paypal.

One new addition is a five week Self-Directed course. There are a maximum of six people in each class, so you can get lots of hands-on instruction time. You decide on what you are wishing to learn more about and Patricia will help you accomplish your goals.

Contact her at 919-438-6766 for more information.

Dates: Mondays, September 12 – October 11
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Level of Experience: beginner to advanced
Class Size Limit: 5
Mediums: pastel, dry-brush watercolor, non-traditional egg tempera, graphite pencil, charcoal, pen and ink, scratchboard, and carbon dust
Subject Matter: floral art, traditional botanical illustration, landscape, composition, color theory
Registration Deadline: Monday, September 5
Fee: $120 or $25 per session

Bored with your current painting technique? Struggling with a painting? Having trouble with a composition? My mission is to help you troubleshoot your paintings and to help you find your own unique style and medium and to have fun. This class provides a supportive and safe atmosphere so that you can challenge yourself by learning a new medium or take yourself outside your comfort zone and learn a new technique. The small class size will allow you to receive lots of feedback and hands on help from the instructor.

Some of the ideas and methods you can explore further are:

• how to paint from photographs,
• how to start a new painting,
• how to layer colors and not make mud,
• how to achieve color harmony in your painting,
• how to use color to help enhance the volume of your shapes,
• how to do a wash in watercolor,
• how to do an underpainting for a pastel, and
• how to paint and draw gradations in values.

Bring your own art supplies and light. You may paint from your own photographs or bring a small still life. If you wish to try a new technique, for a nominal supply fee, you may rent my supplies.

Painting Nature in Pastel

Dates: Saturday and Sunday, October 1 and 2
Time: 9:30 am – 4:30 pm
Level of Experience: beginner to intermediate
Class Size Limit: 12 students
Fee: $230

Flowers, landscapes and pastels are a match made in artist’s heaven. The vibrancy of pastels and the colors of nature make for exciting painting partners. In this two day workshop explore some of the different
textures that can be achieved with pastel and how to mix, match, and layer those wonderful colors and not make mud. Working from a living flower or photographs, students will receive composition tips and help
developing their own style. Pastels are pure, luscious ground pigment with a little bit of binder added. They are easy to apply and can be reworked any time. They can be used on any surface that has some tooth. They can be applied very loosely or tightly with many different variations in texture and clean-up involves only the snap of a wrist. Students may rent a pastel set for $25.

Contact: Lynda Chambers, Chambers Arts, chambersarts.com, 919-259-6458. Chambers Arts is located at 200 S. Academy St. in Cary, NC.

The Franciscan was one of the larger of the hotel’s meeting rooms and it was packed when Richard McKinley walked in the room. A tall, slim, rather good-looking man, who reminded me of George Clooney once he started speaking. His delivery was funny, personable and clever.

One of the more interesting of the demos, Richard McKinley’s approach was entertaining and well-planned. In his approach, he uses watercolor as an under painting, and in today’s demo it was a scene in Oregon showing an interesting line of tall pine trees along the horizon with a stream and ditch coming forward in the picture plane. His process has three parts to it: Sensitivity, the concept and the drawing stage; Serendipity, the intuitive rendering of your under-painting; and Solution, finishing the painting.

During the Sensitivity stage, Richard draws in his subject, using pencil. He places a dot in the center of his paper so he is aware where the center lies. The he draws in his subject, keeping it very loose, though he is very conscious of the perspective of the land and the trees, indicating this with concentric lines for trees going upward and simultaneously curved lines that follow hollows of the land. Richard uses a very sketchy style in his drawing because as he says, “There are no lines in nature. We are the ones that finish the closures.” Also in this stage, he figures out where his area of interest will be.  During this conceptual stage, he decides on the horizon level, so he is mentally placing himself in the scene. Where one places the horizon says something about your feelings. If one is looking down, the feeling of the piece will be introspective whereas above the line is more ethereal. You, the artist, are in control of the placement. He relies on the rule of thirds: field of vision, field of view and depth and breadth.

The Serendipity or under-painting stage is the set up of your idea. This is where you set up the majority of your values and edges, soft to sharp and dark to light. “Be Playful,” he advises. In his watercolor under painting, he used: warm yellow, alizarin crimson, ultramarine blue, sap green and burnt sienna to make all his mixtures. Richard puts his darks in first and says that when in doubt use Payne’s grey or a neutral. He was working wet in wet on sanded paper and was allowing the all the drips to remain. He used warmer tones in the foreground and bluer ones in the background, using a “sfumato” technique where the transition between the lights and darks was smoky. He likes his under painting to be perceived as through a veil once he has applied his pastel. He feels this gives a feeling of depth in the landscape, so one has the subtle perception of things underneath. Richard uses complimentary colors in areas of luminosity like sky or water to create that quality of light that is opalescent. He uses orange and alizarin crimson in the sky and adds blue across part of it. He also adds green near the horizon but also uses this cool somewhere else in the painting.

Richard McKinley adds most of his pastel in the Solution part of his painting process. He advises that dark is a weight and suggests adding the darks and lights at the same time into the area of interest. Develop them simultaneously, and never get your dark darker than value three. He tries to use values that are close to the under painting, and advises trying to repeat the color whenever possible and weave other colors through it. When he uses his softer pastels, he uses it like staccato in music with pings of accents like dots or dashes.

Richard McKinley relies on field sketches, rather than photography, to understand the way the light and dark on the land works and also to finish his pieces in the studio. When out in the field, he has another bunch of 3’s he considers: where to paint, where to pee and where to park. His audience roared when he told us that one, as it is so true when one is working in plein-air.

A wonderful demo, full of interest, hilarity and earnestness as one feels he cares very much about his art and about imparting helpful information to other artists.

photo taken from www.mckinleystudio.com