MASTER WORKSHOPS

Each year, PPSCC offers two master-level workshops. One coincides with our summer “For Pastels Only” exhibit. The other is in the fall. These two or three-day workshops are wonderful opportunities to elevate our creative selves to a new level, led by nationally recognized pastel painters/instructors. Information for the 2023 workshops will be posted as soon as it is available.

Two Options for the Summer 2023 Master Workshop
with Christine Ivers

WORKSHOP ONE

July 6 & 7
“Explore the Dark Side: Nightscapes”
9 am – 4 pm
Cape Cod Cultural Center,
South Yarmouth, MA

Discover the fun of texture while working in a relaxed atmosphere with this Pastel Master and popular instructor. Learn how to create excitement in your nocturnal painting with glows and reflections that bring a NightScape to life!

This workshop will also focus on color temperature, atmospheric perspective, and drawing in the dark. Experiment with the purest of pigments on 11” x 14” hand-made Gator boards, which will be available for purchase at the workshop. Demos and critiques are always included.

Chris will even spend a little time teaching you how to take a better reference shots for either day or night paintings and how to take better photos of your finished pieces (even if they are under glass) for competition entry.

WORKSHOP TWO

July 9 & 10
“Experimenting with Textures, Surfaces, and Underpaintings”
9 am – 4 pm
Cape Cod Cultural Center,
South Yarmouth, MA

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to work with non-conventional pastel paper? Are you familiar with Sumi Ink, Walnut Drawing Ink, Metallic under paintings? How about Black textured Gator board or 140 lb cotton rag watercolor paper?

If you are looking to break out of an artistic rut then this workshop is for you. We will explore many different approaches that could possibly lead you down a new path of creativity that you never knew existed. Demos and critiques are always included.

Chris will even spend a little time teaching you how to take a better reference shots for either day or night paintings and how to take better photos of your finished pieces (even if they are under glass) for competition entry. So join me for this adventurous road and we’re going to have fun in a relaxed and encouraging atmosphere.

About the Instructor:
Christine Ivers, PSA-MP, IAPS/EP, PSWC, CPS

Chris attained a BFA in painting and two dimensional design from Hartford Art School in 1973 and found work in the advertising field for the last 40 years. She has been Creative Director at numerous ad agencies and in 1986 broke off on her own to start her own company. She works with artists in that cross-over world of fine art and digital photography to teach them how to better promote themselves.

After raising four daughters, Chris returned to her passion and works in pastels and oils. She is the Past-President of the CT Pastel Society where she also holds Signature Artist Membership. Chris is also a Master Pastelist of the Pastel Society of America, an Elected Artist Member at Lyme Art Association. Allied Artists of America, Audubon Artists, and with Academic Artists of America. She was inducted into the IAPS Eminent Pastelists in 2022. Other memberships are with CT Women Artists, Salmagundi Club NYC, and numerous other art organizations.

Chris has won numerous awards and has paintings in private collections throughout New England. Her paintings were chosen by the International Association of Pastel Societies as one of eight finalists worldwide in two of the IAPS cover competitions and placed First in Pastels in the Richeson 75 Landscape Show, WI. Her paintings “Red on 5th” and “Salt” were chosen as two of Pastel Journal’s Top 100.

She was juried into PaintAmerica’s Top 100 Artists for 2008 & 2010 with shows that traveled the country for next two years visiting Galleries and Museums. Chris has been published in Best of American Artists Pastel Edition, Practiqué des Arts (a French publication featuring artists from around the world), American Art Collector Magazine, The Pastel Journal and was honored with the Art Spirit Foundation Silver Medal Award for Excellence in Pastel at the Salmagundi Club in NYC.

She is a former member of the PSA Board of Governors and Vice President of IAPS.

Chris and her husband David live in Central Connecticut.

Learn More

Put Some WOW in Your Artwork
2023 Winter One-Day Workshops

Now more than ever, we all need something to look forward to, and the Winter One-Day Workshops (WOW) are just the thing to get us through those dreary winter days by teaching us new painting techniques and renewing our creative spirit.

The Pastel Painters Society of Cape Cod (PPSCC) is dedicated to providing our members and the wider community with opportunities to learn and explore the pastel medium throughout the year. With that in mind, we are delighted to present our WOW online workshops, led by highly-skilled pastel artist-members and instructors.

This year’s WOW workshops will be held virtually via Zoom to ensure everyone’s safety.

Supply lists for each session are provided in the descriptions and additional information, including the Zoom link, will be sent prior to the workshops.

Registration is on a first come/first serve basis and is processed entirely online. WOW workshops are limited to 12 participants to provide plenty of one-on-one mentoring. These are highly anticipated workshops and you are encouraged to sign up early.

Cancellation Policy

WOW workshops will be held online, via Zoom

Saturdays, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
(Link to Zoom will be provided prior to session)

Cost for each workshop:
$80 for members
$135 for non-members

Your payment is non-refundable unless the workshop sells out and your spot is taken by another person from the waiting list. Membership dues must be paid by 1/15/2023 to secure a spot at the member rate. To pay your dues now, click here .

2023 Winter One-Day Workshops (WOW) Schedule

January

“A Wintry Walk — Depicting Fallen Snow in Soft Pastel” with Mark Ivan Cole

January 14, 2023, 10 am – 4 pm, online via Zoom

Winter is magical. I’ve found it to be so all over the world. I have rendered snowy scenes in acrylic, charcoal, pen & ink, colored pencil and graphite, but there’s nothing like painting snow with soft pastels!

I’ll demonstrate my process for composing, laying out and refining a soft pastel painting of a snowy scene, a subject that has its own special challenges for artists! We’ll explore the quality of the light, especially in the shadows. I’ll talk about how my approach to color, depth and mass, and how I choose what to detail and what to suggest.

After the demo, you will have time to work on your own painting. We’ll have one-on-one sessions in which we can talk about the direction and challenges in your art, and discuss options and techniques that may help you achieve your painting goals.

P.S. Participants will receive links to videos of the workshop, which should be ready about a week after the event. Videos will remain available online for 30 days.

Learn More about
Mark Ivan Cole

February

“T” Is For Texture with Eve Miller

February 11, 2023, 10 am – 4:30 pm, online via Zoom

Our focus will be on the 3 ” T”s : TOOLS, TIPS and TECHNIQUES

I will do 3 demos : Uart 400 NuPastels, Rubbing Alcohol, soft Pastels

Uart 400 NuPastels, gesso with water, soft pastels

Pre-primed gatorboard gesso, watercolor, hard and soft pastels.

My reference will be a Lowcountry Marsh scene I know well.

Emphasis is on underpainting, color harmony, adding texture and ” EYE CANDY”.

Join me in creating evocative, romantic, glorious more intuitive pastel landscapes

Sharing at the end of our session is encouraged.

March

Drama from Sea to Sky with Christine Bodnar

March 11, 2023, 10 am – 4 pm, online via Zoom

In this workshop titled “Drama from Sea to Sky” demonstration of three elements of color– luminosity, hue, and saturation will be practiced. Pastel is an excellent medium for creating contrast and making bold statements with their vibrant pure color, this being said, the painter has control of touch and pressure which gives the painting life. Use of expressive gestures and mark making evoke attention from the viewer and captures interest in your work! Water and sky are both great sources of inspiration and can be eye-catching when put in a dramatic scene such as sunsets, sunrise, or stormy conditions. Bring your photos and think drama!

This workshop will also stress of few constants that are the basics for any painting, composition,value recognition, and movement. We will also cover the importance of doing studies and evaluating the elements that are important to the design of the painting.

 

Learn More about Christine Bodnar

April

“BRAVE, BOLD, BEAUTIFUL – The Beauty of Imperfection” with Jen Evenhus PSA-MP, NPS-DP, IAPS-MC, PSWC

April 8, 2023, 10 am – 4 pm, online via Zoom

Our focus for this one-day workshop is “Brave, Bold, Beautiful.” I dare you to be brave while exploring your inner voice, letting go of perfection and playing with a variety of materials to create bold expressive works of art as we step fearlessly into the unknown. Using timed exercises to loosen up and reveal your innate intuition forces us to use bold strokes with wild abandon, creating happy little accidents and mark-making that reveals your personal style.

Students will work with landscape and still life photos provided by instructor, and if time, with their own photo reference. We will use contemporary impressionist, expressionist and abstract styles as we explore shapes, composition, positive and negative space, bold vs neutral color and mark-making. There will be challenging exercises, an instructor demo, one-on-one coaching, discussions and painting throughout this intense, fast-paced workshop with Master Pastelist Jen Evenhus. Jen plans to use Zoom and also the Free Padlet Platform which is easy to use and perfect for sharing your work.

It will be important for students to have their paper ready and underpainted and all supplies ready before class begins. Jen will also contact each student to get them set up with Padlet a couple days before the workshop. Students will need to download the Padlet APP onto their cell phone to use for critiques and to access other important notices that Jen will share via Padlet. The sooner you log onto Padlet and register (Use your first and last name) for the FREE version, you can begin to play with it and learn how to use it BEFORE the workshop. YouTube has many Padlet tutorials. Students will all receive a digital workshop booklet to use during the workshop. Come with an open mind and willing spirit!