Authentically Human! Not Written by AI!
All Content Copyright © Michael Chesley Johnson AIS PSA MPAC

Friday, June 17, 2022

Report: North Carolina Pastel Workshop

View in browser

When we set up to paint early in the day, we didn't realize
that this was the "kiddie pool" end of the creek!  Some of the
kids and most of the parents came over to admire our work.


As part of my cross-country trip from New Mexico to Campobello Island, I stopped in North Carolina to teach a plein air workshop in pastel. Run in conjunction with the annual statewide pastel exhibition, which I judged, the workshop was held in the beautiful mountains around Asheville and Black Mountain. Under the sponsorship of the Appalachian Pastel Society, several of us ventured out in the perfect weather to paint streams, trees and mountain views.  I say “perfect weather,” meaning that it didn't rain, but even the locals in the group declared it a tad warm.  Fortunately, the workshop coordinator brought bottles of water for us—much needed, even though we always managed to find shade.  Thank you to everyone who organized the event, and to the students who never scattered too far from the teacher!

Now I'm comfortably settled at my studio on Campobello Island.  Two summers have passed since I was last here—I'm having a ball going through the studio, remembering paintings, gear and materials that I'd forgotten about.  I'll have some new paintings to post soon.  But in the meantime, some photos and demos from the workshop!

Shadowy rocks in the creek demo 9x12 pastel

Early morning sunlight on the lake demo 9x12 pastel

Shadowy path through the the trees
demo 12x9 pastel

How to paint a tree demo 12x9 pastel

A challenging subject: the arched bridge
over the stream, mostly in shadow with
a lot of stuff going on thereabouts demo
12x9 pastel