ICAN Pastel Conference Session Guide
The following session descriptions are provided to assist you in making your conference session choices.
PLEASE note the day and time of each session, using the conference schedule—it is up to you to ensure that you do not register for sessions that may conflict with one another! Especially, note that demo and plenary sessions run in the same time frames as full and half-day workshop sessions—if you register for a workshop, you cannot attend a demo or plenary that overlaps the same time frame. You can attend two ½ day workshops on a single day; there will be a one-hour break in between these sessions.
You may select as many or as few sessions as you wish to fit into your schedule. Each session is priced individually, so you may control your own level of conference participation and cost.
The prices for the three types of sessions are as follows:
2 hour demonstrations (coded D) are $50 each.
½ day (3 hour) workshops (coded HW) are $75 each.
Full day (6 hour) workshops (coded FW) are $150 each.
There will also be a number of hour-long plenary sessions (Paint-A-long; Exhibition Walkabout; Framing Session) that are free for all conference attendees (1130-1230 Mon, Tues, and Thurs). These are described in this guide. No registration is required for these plenary sessions—just attend!
See the schedule for the locationsof all sessions.You will receive an individualized conference package with your session tickets upon arrival at the conference.
Biographies of presenting artists are available on the PAC website, with links to each artist’s personal website.
Monday, May 30
MFW1Full Day Workshop Session; 9 am-4 pm
Dave Beckett; Painting Land and Sea
This session will be a hands-on pastel workshop discussing various pastel and pastel paper products. It will include two demonstrations (Landscape and Seascape) as well as mini demos assisting workshop individuals as required. We will discuss photo use with Adobe Photoshop PS.
MHW1 ½ Day Workshop Session; 9 am-12 noon
Trish Acres; Setting the Stage for a Great Still Life
Together we will consider objects and their arrangement using light to create a ‘set’ from which tell the visual narrative of a still-life. Approaching a still-life as a story complete with a theme, characters and setting can help create drama. We will paint a chiaroscuro style still-life from a reference photo provided.
MHW2 ½ day Workshop Session; 1-4 pm
Christine Camilleri; Composition Can be Fun!
Good composition makes your paintings stand out. Whether a painting is a still life, a landscape, wildlife, people, or an abstract — the underlying structure holds the painting together. Knowing compositional design tools can make you more creative, not less! You’ll also spend more time painting and less on fixing!Together we will identify the compositional and design tools at your disposal and put you in the designer seat. We will learn how to quickly make Notans and thumbnails using photo references and you may come to see why they are so important to your painting process.Lastly, composition is easily acquired…it just takes some know how and practice!
MD1 Demonstration; 9-11 am
Margaret Ferraro; Travel Painting
Many artists have a dream of travelling around the world and painting, but are not sure of how to start organizing for such a trip. This session will include what materials are appropriate to take; how to store your work; how to set realistic goals while on a trip; and how to make the most out of the information gathered while travelling. Margaret will show several travel portfolios and discuss upcoming travel trips for 2016/2017, which may include Spain (Mallorca and Barcelona), Costa Rica, Peru, Ireland, and maybe even France or Tuscany again.
FREE PLENARY EVENT, NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED; 1130-1230; Paint-A-Long
Award winning artists Christine Camilleri, Sharon Fox Cranston, Andrew McDermott, and Clarence Porter will co-paint four works within the hour. Each will start a work from her/his own resource photo, then take turns working on each others’ paintings until the time is up! The final paintings will be signed by all four artists and auctioned off during the remainder of the conference. Such an event is commonly called a “paint-around,” but our event will be held on a stage with the artists in a long row—thus a “paint-a-long”!
MD2 Demonstration; 2 -4 pm
Jessica Masters; Painting Waves
Few elements capture the emotion of the artist and viewer like water, especially the wave. The shape, colour and size of a wave can have a dramatic impact on the mood and atmosphere of a painting, yet rendering waves and water can be seen as a challenge. This session will begin by discussing how to choose good source imagery, and how to effectively crop and compose your subject for the best visual impact. Then, in a step-by-step demonstration, you will be shown how to simplify the complexity of the moving wave. A slide show of artists that have successfully handled the subject of waves will also be shown.
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Tuesday, May 31
TFW1 Full Day Workshop Session 9 am-4 pm
Andrew McDermott; Painting the City at Night
Andrew will show how to develop a city scene in a fun, creative and spontaneous way. He will start with a talk about his approach to painting and then start with a study or two, further developing a color work. Andrew has an intriguing way to show an approach that is simple in stages, yet still develops into a lush impressionistic painting. He will demonstrate how to paint an energetic look in a painting, and offer a few tricks and processes to aid in the look of dramatic city scenes.
THW1 ½ Day Workshop Session 9 am- 12 noon
Kim Martin; Eyes, Snouts, and Fur
I will begin by giving brief artists’ anatomy descriptions and explanations of how I depict eyes and snouts. Handouts will be given on material covered. I will show a few different eyes and concentrate on the eyes and snouts of a dog, a demo of eye and snout, and tips on achieving realistic eyes and the all important catch light. I will show my method of achieving realistic, detailed fur in a demo.Time will allow for easel assistance.
THW2 ½ Day Workshop Session 1-4 pm
Gail Sibley; Painting with a Limited Palette
Often we feel we need a whole heap of pastels to make a successful painting. Certainly it’s wonderful to have a large selection to choose from but what happens when you’re painting en plein air, or travelling, or trying out a new brand’s starter box? Is it possible to create using only a small number of pastels? In this workshop, we’ll do various exercises to see the possibilities and potential in the limited palette we have. We’ll look into the idea of values and how understanding values can override the need to have the exact colour. And in the end, we’ll create a painting of a simple still life set up (one or two fruits/veg) with this limited palette.
TD1 Demonstration 9-11 am
Sharon Fox Cranston; Loose Acrylic Underpaintings for Pastel
Loose, vibrant & painterly: the Impressionistic landscape using liquid acrylic and pastel. Take a break from formal pastel painting with a more intuitive, impressionistic expression of the world around us. Acrylic and pastel are both vibrant mediums that insist on immediacy of use. When used together, magic happens.
FREE PLENARY EVENT, NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED; 1130-1230;Exhibition Walkabout
Pastel Artists Canada President Ruth Rodgers (MPAC) will lead you around the PAC juried exhibition in the exhibition hall. She will discuss the key elements of various works including the show’s award winners, pointing out what can be learned from each one, and answer questions about technique and composition. She will also be happy to explain the PAC and invite new members to join the society!
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Wednesday June 1
WFW1 Full Day Workshop Session 9 am-4 pm
Clarence Porter; Painting the City
Working with the smooth and angular shapes of sky, steel and cement, the "Painting the City" workshop will give you a glimpse into the possibilities of achieving exciting organic spaces with the brilliant colours of pastels. I will share the techniques and tricks I use to achieve my cityscapes.
WFW2 Full Day Workshop 9 am-4 pm
Christine Camilleri; Let’s Boss Around Colour!
Pastels are delightful little colour chunks yet so many of us are afraid to turn up the colour volume in our paintings. Most artists become stuck painting only the colours they see and are missing out on taking their work to the next level — and to making artistic statements. This session will help you bring more creative interest to your work no matter what subject matter you enjoy painting. During our time together we will also touch on these foundational topics as they relate to colour: harmony, values, underpainting and the power of greys.There will be time to work on your own paintings as you gain insight into a new way of looking at and bossing around colour.
WD1 Demonstration 9-11 am
Andrew McDermott; How to Create Lush Colour Studies
Learn to use color studies to your advantage and to aid and enhance your paintings. Learn a few tricks to aid in your decision-making, whether using limited color choices from transparent to opaque or by building layers of color. Andrew will demonstrate some samples of quick studies in pastels.
WD2 Demonstration 1130 am-130 pm
Joan Larson; An Artist’s Journey with the Wild Horses of Sable Island
This session will include a slide show of approx. 200 photographs and a demo based on my time on Sable Island among the wild horses. I like a “question and answer” format and encourage audience interaction.
WD3 Demonstration 2-4 pm
Roberta Combs; Still Life with Reflective Objects
This demo will focus how to approach a painting that includes the challenge of both glass and metal still life objects.I will talk about the aspects of a composition that will help create a successful portrayal of these elements with sparkle and presence. I will also give direction on how to get photos that support a strong composition and include the light and drama that can create award-winning paintings from simple household items.
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Thursday, June 2
RFW1 Full Day Workshop Session 9 am-4 pm
Roberta Combs; Portrait Painting
This workshop will focus on improving portrait drawing and painting skills. We will discuss the elements that result in better portrait paintings. The initial part of the workshop will be focused on the importance of capturing a good likeness of the subject. The general rules of proper feature placement will be stressed to insure success and we will look more closely at the details that define an individual. The workshop will also focus on color and value choices and the subtle contours and shadows that will bring our careful drawings to life. Problem areas such as teeth, eyes, and hair will also be discussed.
RHW1 ½ Day Workshop Session 9 am-12 noon
Joan Larson; Equine Art
Hone your skills for drawing and painting horses accurately. We will discuss and work on basic anatomy and proportions followed by layering with pastels to achieve depth, texture and detail. Attendees should arrive with a drawing ready to go. Also please feel free to bring any other artwork or drawing for assistance and a critique.
RHW2 ½ Day Workshop Session 1-4 pm
Karin Richter; Luscious Soft Pastels on Suedeboard
“Soft Pastels have met their match”- this is how Karin describes her love affair with this lush support. This workshop is designed for artists of all levels who are interested in trying out suedeboard. Karin will focus on the elements needed to create a successful painting, such as strong composition and design, exciting colour and tonal values as she demonstrates a painting and then assists participants in giving it a try!
FREE PLENARY EVENT, NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED;1130-1230; Framing Pastels
Experienced framer Brent Hryniw (owner of Roancroft, in St. Marys, Ontario) will discuss what to look for in a framer and how to choose a good one; good practices for handling pastels prior to framing (including comments on the use of fixatives); framing with and without mats (advantages, disadvantages, risks and challenges); grades of glass (advantages and costs, including museum glass); the importance of archival materials; and framing styles--consumer preference trends, as in "what's selling." Brent will bring some sample frames to show.
RD2 Demonstration 2-4 pm
Jessica Masters; Painting Figures on the Beach
With the right atmosphere, colour palette, and figurative poses, the setting of the beach can take us out of the everyday and remind us of the peaceful effects of being by the ocean. In this session you will be shown ways to best capture this kind of connection, including how to select effective source material and how to compose your subject to achieve the best visual impact. The demonstration will take you through the steps of handling the figures and the watery backgrounds as well as how to key the colour palette to capture the desired atmosphere.
Conference Banquet 530-800 pm; Best Western Hotel, Newmarket, Ontario (17565 Yonge St, Newmarket, ON L3Y 5H6)
Join us for a celebratory meal together. Afterwards, PAC President Ruth Rodgers will present her slide show “The Potential of Pastel” and a short video showing the history of one of the oldest pastel manufacturers in the world, Henri Roché Pastels in France (used by Degas!). We’ll also celebrate our signature members and give out the newest signature and master pastelist certificates. Non-painting partners are welcome to join us for the banquet (purchase your desired number of tickets on the registration form). $40 per person (cost recovery); cash bar available; dress: festive!
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Friday, June 3
FFW1 Full Day Workshop Session; 9am-4 pm
Margaret Ferraro; Pastel and the Figure
Using the figure as subject matter, we will explore your personal relationship with colour. We’ll articulate why we find these choices satisfying, and talk about matching limited palettes to our intention within a painting. We will then usecolour methods to paint the figure, accessing a true and deeper way of personal expression. I will explain my approach to drawing the figure, and take the students through some personal colour journaling. These will aid us in setting up several limited palettes we’ll be using in the afternoon, with a model.
FHW1 ½ Day Workshop; 9 am-12 noon
Gail Sibley; The Art Business in a Multimedia Market
We’ve all heard we need to be online but it all sounds overwhelming not to mention, too much work. What do you really need to be doing online? What’s going to work for you? In this workshop, we’ll touch on many different online platforms and strategies including blogging, social media (Facebook, Google +, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram), Facebook advertising, and YouTube. We’ll dig into why we need to be online and brainstorm some action plans for you to take away. This workshop will be a combination of lecture, visuals, Q&A, and breakout interactive groups.
FD1 Demonstration; 9-11 am
Karin Richter; Painting on Suedeboard
This 2-hour demonstration is of interest to those who are curious about suedeboard, a surface perfectly suited to soft pastels. Karin will share how to quickly analyze a subject matter, how to approach it without underpainting and show how her easy 5-step system makes for a successful painting.
FD2 Demonstration; 1130 am-130 pm
Lise King; Techniques on UART
This demonstration on UART Professional Sandpaper will show various background applications you can do with this paper including watercolour, gouache, acrylic, and inks plus some special effects. As well, we’ll examine how Spectrafix fixative can be a benefit to artists and demonstrate a sealant application if artists do not want to frame their work.
FD3 Demonstration; 2-4 pm
Gail Sibley; Getting to the Bottom of Values
We all talk about the importance of values but do we really know what that means? In this demo, I’m going to show you in as many ways possible, just what values are and why they are so important. Want a better painting? Know your values! Want to up your use of colour but are afraid to? Know your values! Want to create more realistic looking objects? Know your values! Yes, so much of painting comes down to a real understanding of this thing we call values. We’re gonna dive deep!
ENJOY YOUR CONFERENCE EXPERIENCE! PLEASE SUBMIT A CONFERENCE FEEDBACK FORM BEFORE YOU LEAVE TO HELP US DETERMINE IF THIS CONFERENCE SHOULD BECOME A BI-ANNUAL EVENT!