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. Check back soon for information on the 2024 Workshops!

Fall 2024 Master Workshop
with Anne Strutz, IAPS MC, PSA

October 12-13, 2024
MARKS IN MOTION
9 am – 4 pm
Cape Cod Cultural Center,
South Yarmouth, MA
Cost: $375 Member, $425 Non-Member

Line, shape, pattern, light, values, form, color, technique. These are all elements of art we as artists study to improve our understanding of how to paint. How do we use these elements to capture the intention we want to convey and the interest of the viewer?

Creating energy and motion in a painting, for me, requires the ability to respond to what is happening throughout the creative process, concept (sketch) to final work. Implementing the fundamental elements of art along with a healthy sense of adventure behind the easel is essential.

In this two-day workshop students learn how to infuse their paintings with energy and motion, be it fast, slow, loud, quiet. Students will be introduced to exercises to help them let go of what may be restraining them from responding to what they feel about what they are painting, not just trying to copy what they see. We will combine underpainting techniques, mark making and the process of additive and subtractive painting. The first day will be a series of exercises working from provided photo references. On day two students will have the opportunity to work from their own references or provided references to implement some of the techniques they have learned.

Off Season

SUPPLY LIST:

STUDENTS SHOULD BRING THEIR OWN REFERENCE PHOTOS THAT THEY WANT TO WORK FROM ON THE SECOND DAY OF THE WORKSHOP. REALLY ANYTHING BUT A PORTRAIT WILL WORK.

· I WILL BE SHARING REFERENCE PHOTOS ELECTRONICALLY THAT WE WILL BE WORKING FROM FOR SOME OF THE EXERCISES. STUDENTS CAN WORK FROM AN IPAD OR PRINT THEM AND BRING TO THE FIRST DAY OF THE WORKSHOP.

· SELECTION OF PASTELS. BE SURE TO INCLUDE HARDER AND SOFTER PASTELS. PLEASE HAVE A RANGE OF VALUES FROM DARK TO LIGHT, AS WELL AS NEUTRALS.

· LARGE BACKING BOARD THAT CAN FIT AN 18X24 PIECE OF PAPER

· TAPE: WHITE OR BLACK

· DROP CLOTH

· PAPER TOWELS

· CUPS FOR WATER/RUBBING ALCOHOL

· RUBBING ALCOHOL

· INEXPENSIVE FLAT 1” AND 3” PAINT BRUSH TO USE FOR UNDERPAINTING.

· INEXPENSIVE SMALL OIL PAINT BRUSH ¼” (THIS WILL GET DAMAGED WHEN WORKING)

· 2 SHEETS OF SANDED PAPER OF CHOICE NO SMALLER THAN 12X18. STUDENTS CAN WORK LARGE ON THE LAST DAY!! SO, FEEL FREE TO WORK AS BIG AS YOU LIKE. JUST MAKE SURE YOUR BACKING BOARD IS LARGE ENOUGH. YOU MAY DECIDE TO WORK ON PRINTMAKING PAPER AFTER LEARNING NEW TECHNIQUES. WE WILL BE USING RIVES BFK PRINTMAKING PAPER. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE TO BRING TO CLASS YOU CAN CUT A LARGE SHEET IN HALF, AND HAVE TWO PIECES TO WORK ON IN THE WORKSHOP.

About the Instructor:
Anne Strutz, IAPS/MC, PSA

Anne Walker Strutz is an artist in motion, pushing boundaries by infusing movement and energy into her paintings. For Anne, painting begins with what you cannot see. A visual artist is like a magician, telling a story by creating an illusion of space, feelings, dimension, or fleeting moment, for the viewers. Anne’s journey as an artist has been a fulfilling adventure, leading her from fashion and textile design in NYC, to teaching art and developing art curricula. In 2013, Anne turned her focus to fine art and began passionately exploring the medium of pastel earning recognition as a Master Pastelist as recognized by the International Association of Pastel Artists. With a desire to work on a larger scale, Anne began to paint in the oil medium. The experience of working in pastel exclusively for several years has influenced her approach to painting with oils following in the footsteps of the masters who often created smaller scale pastel painting prior to moving to the large scale oil works.

Anne’s work has been featured in the Pastel Journal, Pratique Des Arts and Strokes of Genius publications. She has been a recurring featured author for Pastel Journal and Artist Magazine. Anne currently sponsors a Bi-Annual Global Pastel Society Grant for the International Association of Pastel Artists, which awards grants to pastel societies throughout the world to both teach the beauty of the pastel medium as well as provide community service in their local areas.

Put Some WOW in Your Artwork

2024 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, three of the four WOW workshops will be held virtually via Zoom and one will be held on-site at the Cape Cod Art Center.”

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 Workshop information

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 in advance to secure a spot at the member rate. To pay your dues now, click here .

2024 Winter One-Day Workshops (WOW) Schedule

January

“Abstractions in the Landscape!”
with Laurinda Phakos O’Connor

Saturday, January 27, 2024 , 10 am – 4 pm, online via Zoom

This is going to be a fun and supportive workshop! We will deconstruct, interpret, and let go of our photo references through gesture, value, structural abstraction, mark making, and more. We will start with a demonstration and a series of small studies before letting loose in the afternoon! There will be many boundaries to push, comfort zones to break out of, and plenty of individual instruction. We will end the day with a critique.

Learn More about
Laurinda Phakos O’Connor

February

“Working with Atmosphere”
with Lyn Asselta

Saturday February 17, 2024, 10 am – 4:00 pm, online via Zoom

Part of “setting the mood” in a landscape painting has to do with finding a way to put yourself in your viewers’ shoes so you can offer them a specific sensory experience as they look at your painting. Creating a mood in a painting depends on understanding some basics about weather (atmosphere), light, distance, and proper handling of edges, which can be especially tricky if you’re working from a photo reference. Much of your ability to successfully render atmospheric conditions in your paintings comes from your own experiences with weather, and we are often much more capable of setting the mood in a painting than we think. In this one-day workshop, we’ll combine photo reference and memory to set the mood as we attempt to give our viewers a sensory experience with the landscapes we create.   

March

“What Lies Beneath” with Eileen Casey

March 23, 2024, 10 am – 4 pm
On Site Workshop at the Cape Cod Art Center, Barnstable MA

A hands-on exploration of underpainting techniques. Underpainting serves many purposes and can be used to achieve a variety of different effects, from giving your work more depth and dimension, to creating varied levels of contrast. It can enhance light, darkness, and shadow, as well as create stronger values. Best of all, it is FUN!

You can use different methods of underpainting to create strong paintings, moods, and emotional connections, to your finished work. We will make more than a few diverse samples that may be used for pastel paintings in the afternoon.

Eileen will provide most supplies, but a complete supply list will be provided to all participants upon signup. Please contact Eileen with any questions.

Learn More about
Eileen Casey

April

“The Ephemeral Subject: Mist and Haze”
with Lisa Regopoulos

April 20, 2024, 10 am – 4 pm, online via Zoom

Thankfully for artists, nature is not just blue sky. In this workshop, learn to create the subtle effects of mist and haze in your pastel landscape. You’ll acquire the knowledge of how to create mist, fog, and/or other atmospheric conditions. 

Emphasis will be on use of tonal values, atmospheric perspective, planes in the 

landscape and handling of edges. The workshop will begin with a one hour demo and will include a brief powerpoint presentation. Students are encouraged to use their own photos. 

Learn More about
Lisa Regopoulos