Ultimate Beginner - Pastels
Class | Available
New to Pastel? A little bit rusty? Or do you just want to go back to basics to find new inspiration? This course is perfect for you!
We will be exploring the medium of pastel and the variety of pastel products available today including pastel brands as well as paper selection. You will work on a number of quick painting exercises to get a feel for what the medium can do with your marks. We will explore a variety of techniques to allow you to find your voice in pastel.
Renee Leopardi
Renee Leopardi was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio and after 12 years of Catholic school, she decided to immediately join the work force. Within a year after high school, she decided it would be best to continue her education and worked her way through night school to achieve an Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts from the University of Cincinnati. During those years, she met many wonderful people, one of which is her husband, who grew up in southern New Jersey. In 2002, she relocated to New Jersey to start a family and has never looked back.
From early childhood, Renee has always been interested in art. However, art was never pushed or nurtured as a possible career path, so art became hobby for years. In 2008, she took an Advanced Painting workshop at Studio Incamminati in Philadelphia. From then on, she knew her focus had to change. Since that first workshop, she has continued to further her art education through workshops and independent study including Life Drawing and plein air painting sessions with fellow local artists.
Her newest works are primarily pastel paintings. Through her studies, she realized that painting with pastels has pushed her to explore and create more than she thought she could. Working with pastels can be quick and expressive in a way she wasn’t finding before. Working with pastels has also altered her overall painting style by giving it a turn toward impressionism.
She finds inspiration in the local seasonal landscapes of southern New Jersey; from the ocean and marshes to creeks and woods to farmland. When the weather isn’t so friendly, she and her painting friends move indoors to work on still life or the figure.
Workshops / Portfolio Programs Attended:
Showcase the Color of Light, Sally Strand, IAPS, June 2019
The Painterly Portrait, Alain Picard, Crow Creek School of Art, November 2017
The Poe