Learn how to turn your favourite furry (or feathered!) friend into a pastel portrait in this enjoyable and accessible workshop with professional artist Jo Garlick.
Designed for both beginners and those with some experience, this session will help you develop your pastel skills while focusing on the unique challenge of capturing animal features, fur texture, and personality in your artwork.
Jo will guide you through:
- Choosing and working from a good reference photo of your pet
- The differences between hard and soft pastels and suitable surfaces
- Techniques for fur, eyes, and facial expression
- Tips on composition, layering, and mark making
- How to create a realistic and characterful portrait using pastels
You’ll leave with a pastel portrait of your pet and the confidence to continue exploring animal portraiture on your own.
Materials: A £5 materials charge is payable on the day, possibly more depending on how much paper you use.
What to expect
Time at ArtisOn is designed to take you away from it all and provide the environment, the time and the guidance you need to create. You can expect a warm welcome, skilled and friendly tutors plus the chance to meet like-minded people keen to share ideas and experiences. You can even leave us to clear up the mess! There will usually be two workshops going on and we encourage everyone to mingle and be nosey about what the other workshop is up to.
Arrive in time to meet other participants over a cup of tea or coffee and biscuits before beginning your session at the appointed time. There will be a mid-morning break for refreshments and a chance to talk over progress with others. Lunch is usually around 12:45 for about 45 mins – you can expect a homemade 2 course lunch. The main course will be delicious but don’t overdo it as the puds are usually worth waiting for! There will be a further afternoon break with the most wonderful cakes from Roots & Fruits Home Bakery, a North Yorkshire micro-bakery producing handmade bread and cakes. All food and refreshments are included in the price of the workshop.
Finish time is given as a target – there are occasions when the session may overrun so do let us know if you need to be away promptly.
We aim for your day to be a real treat… of course you could always learn a new skill in a shed or a draughty village hall with a curly sandwich, but we want you to have more fun than that! So we make it a day being looked after, with good food, good company and great inspiration!
