The Education Committee has scheduled a paint in on Saturday, March 25th from 9-4 at the Harris Township Community Center in Boalsburg. Bring your own painting materials and subject matter as this is a gathering when members come together to visit, paint and have fun. It will be a potluck, so bring your favorite dish to share at lunch time. For those of you new to the organization, the Community Center is an old church that is also the home of the Lions Club on Academy Street

Kim Gates Flick and I are planning a new challenge! We really enjoyed taking part in the 30 day challenge in January, but we thought a shorter challenge might also be a good thing to do. So, we are starting a 7 day challenge beginning on March 1st and ending on March 7th. This challenge has some definite procedures to follow: All pieces will be 9 X 12 or smaller (to fit in a Small Works category); all participants will paint one painting a day; all participants will email a

An Exciting New Workshop - A sensational member-led workshop has "popped up" for the 11th of March. This workshop features CPPS members, Kim Gates Flick and Debbie Decker. In this workshop they team up to pair artistic and creative musing activities with mindful meditative exercises. Debbie is a certified yoga instructor/ pastel artist and Kim is visual arts instructor and perennial favorite for creative exploration. It is a day filled with activities specifically chosen fo

The last column of Pastellus focused on what judges look for when jurying a show. This installment will look into things you can do to help your work be accepted. Entering shows, exhibitions and competitions is a necessary step for artists who want to be considered serious artists. Acceptance into juried shows and exhibitions helps build your resume and lend credibility to your work, allowing your art career and professional development to progress. Below are items to keep

Every artist needs to learn to do a self critique - to look at his or her painting and be able to see what your painting may need to improve or finish it. This information comes from Kathleen Dunphy's blog. Kathleen is a wonderful west coast oil painter who also paints the Maine coast. I had the privilege of seeing her work when the Plein Air Painters of America exhibited at the Cape Cod Museum of Art a couple summers ago. Kathleen Dunphy keeps a "Critique Notebook". She reco

Jennifer Shuey has a solo exhibition at Zola Kitchen and Wine Bar from March 6 – April 30. There will be a reception at a date to be determined. Watch Jen’s Facebook and website for details, http://www.jennifershueyart.com/upcoming.html. Jennifer is the featured artist on wine bottles of Slab Cabin Run Red and Slab Cabin Run White, first of the University Wine Company's special label wines. $3 from each bottle sold will benefit ClearWater Conservancy’s Slab Cabin Run conserv

Susan Nicholas Gephart is showing 25 pieces of her works February to March at the State College Framing Company & Gallery, Hills Plaza, 160 Rolling Ridge Dr, St College, PA 16801 Susan's painting, "Changing Light," created en plein air during the Publisher's Invitational in the Adirondacks, was accepted into the Juried Combination group show at Station Gallery for the Clinton County Arts council and the Bald Eagle Art League. The show will be up Feb 24 through March 18, 2017

2017 is well underway now and because we all know how time flies, perhaps, this is the perfect time to talk about this summer and fall! Our pastel society will be having two shows in 2017; a juried art show in August and a member show in October. These are great opportunities for individual artists and our organization - recruiting new members, helping current members, and building community relationships. As an organization, we want to represent all of our members and make s