When I was first presented with a box of chalk pastels my excitement was tinged with apprehension.  I tried them out on ordinary paper, flat on a table, and was discouraged to find drifts of chalk piling up on my picture, not attaching to the paper in the expected way.

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Fortunately soon after that first attempt, while wandering past some shops, I came upon a shop window with a couple of beautiful pastel portraits of children.  On lovely tinted textured paper, the portraits stood out in understated brilliance, soft skin tones, bright eyes and glistening hair.  The artist kindly allowed me to watch her work for half an hour, and during that short time gave me the start up tips that I needed.

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I purchased special textured pastel paper, and got my easel set up so I could paint on a nearly vertical angle - which allows the extra pastel dust to fall away and not clog up the painting.  I was soon getting encouraging results, and have continued to learn more techniques over the years, which, in turn, I enjoy passing on to others through my workshops and individual tutoring.

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I am a registered tutor with PANZ - Pastel Artists of New Zealand.  I teach Pastel Techniques workshops locally in South Auckland several times a year, and further afield as the need arises, plus individual tutoring when I can fit lessons into my schedule.  I am happy to consider taking workshops in different areas when this can be arranged.