What a spectacular evening! Thank you Ozark Pastel Society for coordinating this joint membership show with the Arkansas Pastel Society. Shout out to John Brown University for hosting us in the lovely gallery.
The Arkansas Pastel Society hosted its 10th National Exhibition, Reflections in Pastel, at the Laman Library Gallery in North Little Rock. The exhibition opened on November 17 and remained on display through January 12, 2024.
Tom Christopher served as juror and judge for the exhibition and presented the awards during the opening reception.
Best of Show
Looks Like Rain – Dennis McCann
First Place
The Red Hat – Jean Lewis (Chicago)
Second Place
Oak Room Experience – Georgia Chastain
Third Place
Lady of the Field – Margi Tucker
Honorable Mention
September Splendor – Marcie Ballowe (Montana)
Honorable Mention
River of Dancing Waters – Roy Crawford
Honorable Mention
Joshua – Terri deNatale (Texas)
Arkansas Artist Award
Special Treats – Susan Hurst
Visitors to the reception gathered in the gallery to hear the award winners announced and celebrate the artists whose work was selected for the exhibition.
The Reflections in Pastel exhibition showcased a wide range of pastel artwork and brought together artists and art enthusiasts to celebrate the pastel medium.
Learn more about Arkansas Pastel Society membership.
On December 2nd members met at the home of APS member Anne Parat for the annual Christmas party. Great treats were brought and shared. A short business meeting was held to elect APS officers for 2024. It has become a tradition to hold a drawing for a prize for members who renew their membership or new members who join the day before the annual Christmas party. This year’s drawing winner was Caprise Cooper.
Our National Show was held in November. The Best of Show was won by Dennis McCann for the painting “Looks Like Rain”.
A list and photo of all 2023 National Show winners can be found under Past Exhibitions.
During August of 2023 the Arkansas Pastel Society learned they had been approved to receive one of three global grants awarded by the International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS). The chosen project was to work with Seis Puentes Hispanic Outreach, a non-profit organization in North Little Rock
Tom Christopher led a three-day landscape workshop for APS members in conjunction with the Arkansas Pastel Society’s 10th National Exhibition, Reflections in Pastel. Tom also served as juror and judge for the exhibition and presented the program at the November APS meeting, where he demonstrated a landscape painting.
During the workshop, participants observed Tom demonstrating his techniques and then applied them to their own paintings. Tom works on Gatorboard, which accepts water better than regular foam core, and prepares the surface with gesso to create a textured underpainting, often tinting the gesso with acrylic paint in a complementary color. He may also use watered-down semi-gloss acrylic house paint applied with a 1½-inch brush, taping off areas such as the sky where texture is not desired.
Tom travels light, carrying a small box of Terry Ludwig pastels that he considers his workhorse set. He applies pastel with a very light touch, using the flat side of the stick for most passages and the edge when a sharper line is needed. He often pats the surface with a paper towel and typically paints the sky last so it can be adjusted to work with the rest of the painting. The only time he uses fixative is to darken an area. For sketching, Tom uses a carpenter’s pencil, which provides a broad line and is inexpensive and easy to find at home improvement stores.
Participants enjoyed learning Tom’s techniques and experimenting with them in their own paintings.
APS members regularly have the opportunity to learn from visiting artists through demonstrations, workshops, and programs.
Learn more about Arkansas Pastel Society membership.
Arkansas Pastel Society’s 2023 non-juried members show recently exhibited at the Thea Foundation
gallery in downtown North Little Rock. This year the Arkansas Pastel Society invited the Ozark
Pastel Society to exhibit with them. It was so successful that we have decided to do it again next
year with the Ozark Pastel Society hosting at John Brown University.
An estimated 400 people attended the reception on July 21. The exhibit featured 40 artists,
17 from OPS and 23 from APS with a total of 74 paintings hanging in the show.
This year people attending the reception were asked to cast a ballot for their favorite painting
in the show for the, “The Peoples’ Choice Award,” won by Margi Tucker of the Ozark Pastel
Society for her painting “Raven Feather.”
The exhibit also featured storyboards which recorded the progression of a painting from start
to finish, live demonstrations and a hands-on pastel experience.
Arkansas Pastel Society Recipient of Global Grant from the International Association of Pastel Societies.
APS has received one of three international grants awarded by the International Association of Pastel Societies in the amount of $1,000 each. APS will be partnering with Seis Puentes in North Little Rock, AR, a non-profit whose mission is to build a bridge between Hispanic communities and general life in Arkansas through education, information, and resources. APS will conduct a series of weekly beginning pastel workshops for women in the Seis Puentes facility from mid- September through mid-October, 2023, and furnish art supplies to those attending. Seis Puentes will provide the space and any needed translators. An art show showcasing participant’s work will be held at the end of classes for attendees to celebrate their successes and show off their work.
The four parameters for this grant are:
Two other societies received this grant, The Philippines Painters and the Pastel Society of New Jersey. We are so proud to be a recipient.
Tom Christopher will lead a workshop, November 14-16 in conjunction with our 2023 National Show. He is a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America (PSA) and Master Circle, International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS). You can find all the information and a registration form on our Events page under Workshops.
Arkansas Pastel Society 