"Landscape & Seascape Painting with Soft Pastels" with Beth Williams

Workshop Description (from the instructor)

The workshop will include exercises, demos and instruction on landscape and seascape composition, color, underpainting, and texturizing techniques used in creating successful soft pastel paintings.

About the Instructor

In 2021 Beth Williams achieved her Master Circle Status with the International Association of Pastel Societies. Beth is a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America, and a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of South Carolina. She served as the 2019 Artist in Residence at the Dry Tortugas National Park.

Her work has been featured in Pastel Journal: The Winter Landscape 2021, The Pastel Journal’s “Pastel 100” competition 2018 and 2019, as well as in Charleston Living, One King's Lane, Charleston Garden and Gun Jubilee, Charleston Style and Design Magazine, Charleston Art Mag, and in the summer 2020 issue of Parks and Travel Magazine. She has exhibited in the annual juried Piccolo Spoleto Art Exhibit in Charleston, SC, 2014-2018.

Beth earned Fine Arts and Bachelors of Science degrees in Art Education from Texas Tech University, teaching art for private and public schools, as well as for art museums across the country and abroad. She began painting full time in 2009, pursuing a career in fine art landscape painting.

Beth's work focuses on the diverse sea island landscapes that surround her home studio in Beaufort, SC. She prefers to begin her paintings outdoors, observing nature and the fleeting light effects on color, shape and texture in the landscape. Her marsh and dunes scenes have been described as sweeping, soulful and intuitive. Especially notable are her recent explorations in technique focusing on movement and textural quality of tidal and ocean waves.

Most recently, Beth has initiated a flame series that tempts the eye with the mystery of fire. The initial installment of the series sold out within two hours of its offering.

Though currently expanding into oil, Beth's medium of choice is pastel, which she prefers for its rich, luminous color and velvety finish, allowing her to capture a strong atmospheric quality in her landscapes. She reveres pastel for its pure color permanence and flexibility to work in wet or dry technique, as well as allowing her to paint or draw simultaneously on the same surface. She is an avid reader of art history and her work has been influenced by noted landscape painters Edgar Payne, Wolf Kahn and Winslow Homer.

You can find Beth's work in the Charleston Artist Collective gallery and at With These Hands gallery on Edisto Island, SC. Beth can also be found at bethwilliamspastels.squarespace.com, on Instagram @bethewilliamsart and on Facebook @Beth Williams Fine Art.

Workshop Supply List

Soft Pastels-

One full set of Nupastels (harder)

Additional: softer half stick landscape sets. Suggested brands- Unison, Girault, Senneilier, Schmincke, Richeson.

Additional darks and lights set from Terry Ludwig.

Paper-

U Art sanded paper (if you order the sampler set from www.dakotaartpastels.com you can try various grits and brands)

We will be working in sizes 8’ x 10” and smaller.

Miscellaneous-

foam core board

artists tape, white or black ( no blue) or clips attaching paper to your board

fixative, Lascaux or Sennelier Latour

rubbing alcohol

inexpensive paintbrushes - small to med for underpainting

foam brush from hardware store- small to med

small grey toned sketch book

value markers, black marker with fine to med tip and or a white and black nupastel

thin vine charcoal

container for pastels (you can start with a tupperware with a lid and some rice to keep pastels clean) or keep them in sets. A landscape set can be a smart choice for outdoor painting.

small color wheel

small table-top or standing easel for indoor I have some I can bring if needed)

blending tools- packing p-nuts or blue insulation. (you can buy this at the hardware store but I will bring enough to share)

baby wipes

paper towels to catch dust on your easel and to clean pastels

Reference photos on ipad or computer or printed out large enough to see. Please no small pics on your iphone

www.dakotaartpastels.com = A good source for pastels and sanded paper

Registration

Registration is open to CCAL members for $300 ($50 minimum deposit required).

Registration is open to all artists for $325 ($50 minimum deposit required).

Lunch provided – Limited to 12 Participants Max