Chalk and Oil Pastels I: Basic Techniques and Fundamentals

Instructor: Lia ter Heide
Mondays 5:30-8:30pm
8 weeks: April 15 to June 10, no class May 20
Location: In-person Williams Building room 243
$310 (supplies not included)
Prerequisite: None

Pastels are a pleasant to use, portable medium that produces drawings with a painterly quality. For this introductory course, students may choose to work with either oil pastels or soft chalk pastels, or both, according to their interest. Pastel techniques will be explored through exercises, demonstration, discussion, and study of works by established artists. Colour blending and mark-making strategies will be developed while exploring surface options and preparation, visual references, and observation. Students will be introduced to subjects such as landscape, portraiture, still life, and abstraction, which will provide opportunities to cultivate an array of foundational skills. 

Syllabus

  • Design, observation, composition, references
  • Surface options and control
  • Blending and mixing colours
  • Types of mark making
  • Planning, preparing, and executing a finished piece
  • Landscape
  • Portraiture
  • Still life
  • Florals
  • Abstraction

Supplies

  • Soft chalk pastels set, minimum 10, recommended, 24 or more
  • Chalk pastel pencils: white, black
  • 2B Pencil
  • Pencil sharpener
  • Vinyl eraser
  • Kneaded eraser
  • Tortillons
  • Blending stumps (2 pack)
  • Sandpaper pointer (sharpening pad)
  • Tracing paper
  • Black Stonehenge 245gm paper (1 sheet)
  • White Stonehenge 245gm paper (1 sheet)
  • Grey Stonehenge 245gm paper (1 sheet)
  • Glassine paper (2 sheets)
  • Non-aerosol fixative