Painting is totally absorbing to me… for a brief time I forget all else and simply revel in the beauty of the world and my response to it. Soft pastel is the perfect medium for me because it is so direct, so immediate. The richness of the pigments, the vibrancy and the endless possibilities for mark making is fascinating.
Deborah Brown is a member of the Piedmont Pastel Society and has been a practicing artist and teacher for over forty years. She has taught art and English in day and evening schools in Ontario, Canada (where she was born), Haiti, and the Charlotte area. Deborah has explored a variety of media as a student and practicing artist, but in the last fifteen years she has focused primarily on brilliant and beautiful soft pastel. Since moving to the Charlotte area, she has had the privilege of studying under several eminent pastel artists including Liz-Haywood Sullivan, Alain Picard, and Lana Ballot. Deborah maintains a studio and art gallery on the family farm in Monroe, NC. She has participated in shows and achieved awards locally and internationally.
Upcoming Workshops
Thumbnails and Colour Studies
ICAN 2025 - Studio A West
Saturday, May 31, 2025
9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Demo
TNCS! How to save money and frustration on your pastel journey!
- TNCS: Thumbnails Colour Studies*. These are pastel artists’ best friends, as utilizing the discipline of slowing down to Plan, Discern, Decide and Proceed, can save hours of wasted time on compositions that don’t work, and ideas that we don’t really love!
- During this two hour demonstration, I will work from photo references and life to create a series of black and white thumb nails, value, and colour studies of a landscape scene. We will evaluate the merits of each, then decide why we would want to develop a particular design.
- Each participant will have hands on experience with the process: how to find the most important 5-7 shapes in any given composition, how to crop for a more dynamic composition, how to plan and execute a composition using a variety of palettes.
- Our session will include my working through to a certain degree of finish on the chosen composition. This will take about 30 minutes of the session.
Pre-order your supplies from Studio Six or Wyndham Art Supplies at a discounted rate* and have them delivered to the conference! See Studio Six offer details. See Wyndham Art Supplies offer details.
Demo Material List
Each participant should bring a sketchbook, with tan or gray toned paper, willow charcoal and a white conte. Gray scale Tombow markers are optional.
Register Now
Workshop Fee (PAC members): $50
Not a member? Join the PAC
before registering for a workshop for a $50 Annual Membership.
Or add a one-time $50 Conference Fee in addition to the workshop fee. Only add to cart once regardless of how many workshops you register for.
