Saturday 27 August 2016

Mollie's Pastel Art Class

On 28th July my Grandma and Grandad took me to an art class in Tiptree, Colchester. The class is called Portraits in Pastels and is run by a lady called Alison Burchert. This was part of my birthday present and I had been excited for weeks about going. I really want to be an artist when I am older.

The class ran from 12.30-2.30pm and they also offer an earlier class 9.30-11.30am, they run on selected dates through the school holidays and cost £20 per person. The children's classes are for ages 6-14 year olds (6 years olds must have a grown up stay with them.)

At the start of the class Alison introduced herself to us all and talked about what we were going to do. She showed us the materials we were going to be using and we all sat around a huge work area.
There were 10 of us altogether, mostly children but a couple of adults too, my Grandad joined in with us as he loves art too.

We got to choose an image to work on, I choose a golden retriever. 


The image is printed in grey scale on velour paper which is specifically for pastel art work. At the end of the work area there were trays of pastels to choose our colours from.
With the large picture we were also given small photos of the same image but taken from different stages of adding colours.

We then got started. Alison went round the table during the session helping us when we needed it. I felt quite nervous to start with as I really didn't want to ruin my picture but I soon settled into it.


To start with we had to add the black details and then the white highlights. It was surprising how quickly the image started to take shape and look more "real."

My Grandad also took part and he had chosen a Clown fish picture, it looked like Finding Nemo!

After doing the black and white it was time to start adding the colour to the picture. 


Then the picture really started to take shape and look real! I was so happy with how it was starting to look. 


Alison showed us how to add some colour to the background. This helped to make the picture stand out and also hide any finger smudges!


I was so proud of what I had made and I just couldn't stop smiling. I couldn't wait to get home to show Mum, Dad and Emily!
At the end of the course we were able to buy clip frames, pastels and bits to use at home. I got another velour picture to do at home and have started work on it already. I'm just doing it a little bit at a time so I don't rush it. 

If you want to see me at work then check this out!



I really hope you enjoyed reading about my art class and I think you should give it a try! Alison also runs these classes as birthday parties which I think would be amazing! (I might have to have a chat to Mum and Dad!) More information can be found on Alison's website or the Portraits in Pastels facebook page.

Thanks for reading and please share!

Mollie 









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