Petals in Pastels: Exploring Florals using Soft Pastels
with Suzann Beck
Experience Level: Beginner, no prior experience needed
Saturday December 7, 9am-3:30pm (1 session)

Ages 18+ (Please contact us at dsegerstrom@paramountarts.org if you have a younger student interested in participating)

Flowers in Soft Pastel! Explore the lush qualities and endless possibilities of soft pastel in this one-day floral workshop. Suzann will walk you through a step-by-step process starting with a sketch and building up to a luminous finish. You will explore light effect, color temperature and development, value and edges, as well as learn pastel best practices. Suzann will also demonstrate how to use an alcohol wash to add yet another amazing technique to your pastel work. The first segment features a short lecture and demonstration with hands-on student work from photo reference for the remainder of the workshop

Please bring the following materials to class:

• Notebook and pen/pencil for taking notes.
• A sheet of tinted, fine-grit sanded pastel paper in light or medium gray or other muted color (400 to 800 grit), brands I recommend are Sennelier La Carte, Claire fontaine Pastelmat, Art Spectrum Colourfix Coated Pastel Paper, Pastelbord or other pastel paper you’re comfortable with.
  11 x 14 or 12 x16 is a good size to give you plenty of margins for your work.

Some pastel papers come mounted to a rig

id backing that give your piece better support for framing.

If you’d like to experiment with the alcohol wash, UArt 800 grit sanded paper in white is a great paper to work with.

• Masking tape or clips to secure your paper.
• A small drawing board and table top easel. A dust tray made of stiff paper or split paper towel cores to put under drawing board and paper towels.
• A Pastel Pencil in a wine or magenta color.
• An assortment of soft, semi-soft pastels in the NuPastels brand—the dry “chalk” kind (oil pastels are not appropriate for this technique). For this class I prefer square semi-soft pastels. Square pastels have nice edges for more precise work. A 30- or 36-piece half-stick set would be a good starter set. Look for pastel sets that have a good assortment of lights and darks in each color. Also look for pastels that have nuanced subtle colors as well as intense.
• A small tray to hold pastels that are in use.
• Feel free to bring your own floral photo reference to work from. The instructor will also provide photos to work from. The following are optional, but nice to have:

• If you would like to use gloves to protect your hands from pastel dust, I recommend gardening gloves with breathable mesh backs and a rubber coating on the bottom of the fingers and palm (avoid the nitrile! they’re too stiff!).
• Pastel pencils can be helpful for sharp detail. Pan pastels, if you have them, can be convenient for block-ins. A very soft brush if you’d like to soften edges.
• Alcohol and a brush if you’d like to experiment with pastel washes.

• A piece of glassine or wax paper to protect your drawing on the way home.

Studio Practices- What to Expect While You Are Creating with Us!

The Paramount Center for the Arts welcomes all people to the Studios with the expectation of inclusion and respect towards all, including yourself, fellow students, instructors, staff and volunteers.

Instructor Prep Time: Please allow your instructor time to prepare your classroom; if you arrive more than 15 minutes earlier than the class start time, please explore one of our onsite exhibition spaces or wait in the Lobby in the Visual Arts Department.

Cleaning: Please help keep the Studios a welcoming space by cleaning up your area before departing the building.

Food and Beverage: The Visual Arts Department offers a Lobby Area for students and instructors to enjoy food and beverages. There is an onsite microwave and refrigerator, along with vending machines. For your safety, we ask that you please do not eat in any of the Studios.

Supplies and Materials: For the safety and wellbeing of all visitors to the Paramount, we ask that materials that are used in the studios are the recommended brands and grade, as described in the materials list, or are approved by Paramount Staff.

Weather Closures:  In the event of severe weather, the Visual Arts Department will update the phone messages on the Information Desk (320) 257-3125, announce closures on the Paramount website homepage, and will communicate via email to any students whose class meeting time is impacted by the closure