Learn how to use the vibrant, permanent colors and versatile nature of pastels to create beautiful paintings! Working from still–life setups and your own photos to create two or more paintings, you will learn the basics of drawing, composition, working with values and colors, and how to work creatively from photos. Demonstrations, talks, and exercises will include ways of applying pastels to paper to achieve various painterly effects, how to begin, proceed, and finish a painting, and how to avoid and overcome common problems. You will have ample time to work on your own paintings, with plenty of personal attention from Sandra, and you will be encouraged to develop your personal painting style.  

Sandra Place grew up in Manitowoc, WI and lives in Santa Fe, NM.  She received a B.A. in French from Northwestern University and received her formal art training at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. She works primarily in pastels and acrylics.  In addition to many national and international juried group exhibitions, she has had over 20 solo gallery exhibitions. She is a Signature Member of Artists for Conservation and the Pastel Society of the West Coast and an active member of various other national organizations. Her work is in many national and international collections, including the Miller Art Museum in Sturgeon Bay and the Rahr-West Museum in Manitowoc, and is included in the books ‘Celebrating Door County’s Wild Places’ and ‘Artists for Conservation 2015 and 2025 International Exhibition of Nature in Art’.  Sandra is represented by fine galleries in the West and Midwest.