Painting Plein Air in Oil Pastel

Immerse yourself in the beauty of late summer on the Oregon coast! Discover the joy of painting en plein air with luscious oil pastels in inspiring locations around Sitka. Working mostly in small format, students will create a series of intuitive sketches and finished paintings which can provide inspiration for larger works in the future or simply stand on their own. There will also be time in the studio each day to familiarize ourselves with the medium through intriguing guided exercises and instructor demonstrations. Prepare to be surprised! All levels of experience are welcome.

Professional artist Sondra Holtzman’s artwork reflects musings of travel, afar and close to home. She leads painting explorations all over the world, including Europe, South America and the South Pacific.

After attending Rhode Island School of Design, Sondra worked as a freelance designer, creating artwork for clients like Nike and Delta Air Lines. Her work has been published in 1000 Artist Journal Pages and Signatures: The Art Journal Collection by Somerset Studio.

For Sondra, the true joy of being an artist also lies in the sharing of her passion with others, helping them to discover their own artistic voice.

A comfortable outdoor chair or blanket to sit on outdoors

Sun hat, sunscreen, good walking shoes

A small support like a clip board to tape your painting to when working outdoors

Small pair of scissors

Roll of blue painter’s tape

Package of baby wipes

Mechanical pencil

Optional but recommended: Notebook and pen

OIL PASTELS:

One set of MUNGYO GALLERY SOFT OIL PASTELS, Set of 48/Assorted Colors ($22.80) which can be ordered on Amazon (www.amazon.com)

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: A small set of Caran d’Ache Oil Pastels and a small set of Sennelier Oil Pastels. These are expensive but well worth the cost. If you are choosing between these two sets, please order a set of Sennelier oil pastels. You’ll be very glad you did.

PAPERS AND BOARDS:

A pad of SANDED pastel paper, such as UART or Sennelier Pastel Card. Visit www.dakotapastels.com for a variety of sanded paper choices.

Two Pastelboards by Ampersand in any size you choose for final paintings (these will need a coat of Pastel Ground to achieve multiple layers)

Optional: Feel free to bring any other substantial papers you like, like 300lb. watercolor paper or Reeves BFK. These papers will need a coat of Pastel Ground for oil pastel painting.

PROTECTION FOR PAINTINGS:

A roll of wax paper for protecting the paintings OR:

A photo album with empty plastic sleeves that can be purchased at a Goodwill store. This is a perfect way to store and protect your pastel paintings. You will need to cut the sanded paper to the size of the photo sleeve before class begins if you choose this option.

ESSENTIALS:

A SMALL BOTTLE OF GOLDEN ACRYLIC SEALER IN SATIN OR GLOSS FINISH

A CONTAINER OF GOLDEN PASTEL GROUND

Highly Recommended: COMIART Clay Sculpture Tools Silicon Color Shapers Painting Brushes Size 6

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MRTCP6E/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

A variety of prepared surfaces for students to experiment on

Extra oil pastels

Bookbinding awls

My collection of oil pastel index cards

Pastel Ground/Sponge brushes/plastic dishes

My portable oil pastel setup

Handout

Three prepared boards per student for three days of daily paintings