Working with pastels is like sculpting with pure color. Come and enjoy! Each session will include a demonstration. Work from your own photographs and images. We will also explore the advantages of underpainting as we discover the beauty of pastels.
Required Supplies
Bring a paper that has a moderate grit and will hold up to a wash with water or alcohol. I suggest working with a sanded paper, such as, U-Art, Pastel Premier (White or Italian Clay), Art Spectrum Colourfix (Natural or Sand) or Ampersand Pasteboard. The size should be no smaller than 9x12 and no larger than 12x16. PASTELS You will need both hard and soft pastels for this workshop. For the hard pastels, I recommend Prismacolor Nupastels, Creatacolor or Faber Castell. Only a few DARK hard pastels are needed, but if you have more bring them also. I will be demonstrating with the following Nupastels: Blue Violet #244 Bottle Green #298 Spruce Blue #305 These are often available for purchase as individual sticks. For the SOFT pastels, many good brands are available so feel free to work with whatever you have. If you are new to pastels, I suggest getting on of the half-stick sets available from Sennelier, Unison or Great American. These sets give you a good range of color and value. A set with a minimum of 30 half-sticks is recommended. Sennelier has a120 half-stick Paris Collection that is excellent for beginners and experts alike. If you shop online, my favorite stores for papers and pastels are listed below: dakotapastels.com fineartstore.com cheapjoes.com BOARD Gatorboard is good support. Foam core, masonite or a drawing board are all fine, too. Make sure whatever board you bring is large enough to support the size of your pastel paper. BRUSHES These will be used for underpainting. A few coarse bristle brushes sizes 6 thru 10 will work well. Old oil painting brushes are fine also. TAPE Artist tape or masking tape. SKETCHBOOK For making initial compositions. WET WIPES Plus a roll of paper towels. NOTE: VIVA paper towels are excellent for cleaning off pastel dust. PHOTOS You may want to bring a few of you favorite photos from which you can paint. There will also be a still life set up for each class. QUESTIONS Please feel free to contact your instructor concerning any of the above
Instructor
Gary Rupp
A new member to the Painting & Drawing faculty, Gary Rupp first studied Studio Art and Plein Air painting at Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL. Over ten years ago he started working in pastels and has been instructed by Terri Ford, Albert Handell, Maggie Price, Doug Dawson and Michael Chesley Johnson. Gary is the current President of the Appalachian Pastel Society (APS) and has recently been awarded Signature Member status of APS.
In December 2017, Gary was very grateful to be selected by The Pastel Journal as one of seven international artists to watch in the coming year. His paintings have been shown in juried international exhibitions at The Salmagundi Club in New York City; The Bascom in Highlands, NC; The Cornwall Center in Charlotte, NC and the International Association of Pastel Societies in Albuquerque, NM. He was recently invited as one of thirteen Florida landscape artists to participate in an exhibition entitled "Fabulous Florida" held at the Ocean Gallery in Flagler Beach, FL.