Welcome to your 2025 Pastel Live highlights! Pastel Live is an annual online art conference all about how to paint with pastels, taking place now through September 19, where we’re learning from 20+ of the world’s leading pastelists. (No tech skills? No problem! If you can click a link, you can join our event!)
“Our goal is to help you grow as an artist, no matter where you’re starting from,” said CEO and host Eric Rhoads.
Essential Techniques Day took place as an optional, but highly recommended, all-day session for those who wanted to learn or review the basics of painting with pastels. Visit PastelLive.com now to join us for the remaining days with demonstrations from Aaron Schuerr, Albert Handell, Rita Kirkman, William Schneider, Vera Kavura, and many more!
How to Paint with Pastels: Essential Techniques Day
Because she has so much experience with the pastel medium, Carol Strock Wasson is always experimenting and trying new things. In her lesson, she used clear gesso with ground, using brayers, squeegees, and other various tools that she has collected over the years.
“Composition is a vital element that helps us plan and design our paintings to help us create a First Place, or a Best in Show,” said Terrilynn Dubreuil. Her pastel demo included tools and tips for creating a strong landscape painting.
“One of the most fundamental – and enjoyable – parts of painting with pastel: mark making and drawing,” said Takeyce Walter in her session. “Pastel is such a unique and versatile medium. Every single mark has its own energy and personality.”
The focus of Anne Strutz’s demo was to embrace evolution and spontaneity, allowing your painting to unfold organically. Anne shared her approach to creating her famous sunflowers, using a multi-layer technique and a gouache underpainting. Anne revealed how each stage can add depth, texture, and life to your work.
“Often, I will work on a painting for a couple of hours and then let it sit,” Anne said, “and go back the next couple of days adding a mark here and there until it is finished.”
Impressionist pastel painter Orit Reuben’s work is deeply inspired by light and its effect on the world around her. In her demo, she guided us through the full process of creating a pastel still life — from drawing and blocking to building form, with a focus on using values to achieve depth and three-dimensionality.
Susan Nicholas Gephart works in multiple mediums, and pastel is one of her favorites. In her session, she taught us how to capture the light behind trees within a forest.
In her portrait demo, Susan Kuznitsky demonstrated gridding and drawing the composition, followed by the underpainting and consequent layers with hard pastels, soft pastels, and pastel pencils.
Wrapping Up Pastel Live’s Essential Techniques Day
“We’ve had a jam-packed schedule filled with outstanding faculty and invaluable learning experiences,” Eric said during the evening round table discussion with Kelly and Kari. Their overall advice when it comes to learning how to paint with pastels: You may be overwhelmed by now but the only way to overcome that is to practice what you’ve learned.
Tuesday ended with the popular cocktail hour paint-along session, where we gathered over a Zoom meeting to meet each other and paint together. On Wednesday, September 17, we’ll see demonstrations from Rita Kirkman, Lisa Regopoulos, Michele Ashby, and Aaron Schuerr!
Join us for the Pastel Live Main Event, taking place today through Friday. Simply visit PastelLive.com and register now so you don’t miss another minute!
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