I had the opportunity to demo for the Lone Star Pastel Society this weekend and it was such a pleasure to be around these artistic souls.  Our local pastel group is a member society of the International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS) and I’ve been a member since about October.  I was very nervous for my demonstration but that quickly melted away and I had so much fun just talking through my painting and enjoying the company.  Warm smiles and encouragement from other artists is an amazing dose of friendship and I learned a lot during our time together…mainly that it wasn’t as scary as I imagined!  Our pastel society meets once a month inside the Amarillo Art Institute and there is such talent and knowledge represented at each meeting.  There was an oil painting workshop going on in the building and the large gathering spaces have areas for artists to weave, throw pottery, paint, carve, sculpt, etc.   It is an artists dream to have such a facility and we are very lucky here in Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle to have such a place to gather and learn.  If you’ve ever wondered about pastel or would like to come to a meeting to try it out, please contact me and I can give you the info!

Although not the painting I demoed at the meeting, this one is a recent painting that I’ve listed on Etsy and on my Daily Paintworks site. I fell particularly in love with the mood the clouds and marsh set…what fun to paint this colorful sunset! It is an 8×8″ on Uart.

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