Painting Without a Brush: Soft Chalk and Oil Pastels
Tuesdays, October 6, 13, 20, 27, and November 3, 10, 1:30–4 p.m
Location: High Museum of Art, Red Workshop, Greene Family Education Center
Registration Required
Not a member? Join today!
The registration fee includes all materials, weekly access to world-class art on view in the museum’s galleries and special exhibitions, hours of expert instruction, and additional access to a Friday afternoon open studio during the run of the class.
The registration fee includes all materials, weekly access to world-class art on view in the museum’s galleries and special exhibitions, hours of expert instruction, and additional access to a Friday afternoon open studio during the run of the class.
Curious about pastels but not sure where to begin? Discover the vibrant world of pastel painting and explore new possibilities for color, texture, and expression.
Experiment with both soft and oil pastels as you learn to harness rich colors, layered textures, and painterly mark making. Working from observation and photographic references, build confidence through essential techniques while developing an understanding of how pastels can capture form, light, atmosphere, and surface texture.
Whether you are new to pastels or looking to expand your artistic practice, this course offers a supportive environment to experiment, refine your skills, and enjoy the immediacy and versatility of this dynamic medium. Through a series of studies and finished artworks, develop confidence in your artistic abilities and your creative voice.
- Week 1: Become familiar with soft pastel materials, papers, and essential techniques. Through mark-making exercises and simple observational studies, explore linear and side strokes, layering, blending, and value to understand the unique qualities of this velvety medium.
- Week 2: Build upon foundational techniques by exploring color relationships, optical mixing, and expressive mark making. Create studies from observation while experimenting with feathering, crosshatching, and scumbling to describe texture, depth, and atmosphere.
- Week 3: Transition to oil pastels and discover their rich, painterly qualities. Learn techniques unique to the medium, including layering, blending, sgraffito, and solvent blending, while comparing the differences between soft and oil pastels through observational exercises.
- Week 4: Develop greater control of oil pastels through studies that emphasize color, value, texture, and dimensional form. Explore a variety of applications to create expressive surfaces while strengthening observational drawing skills.
- Week 5: Choose either soft or oil pastels to begin a finished composition that integrates the techniques explored throughout the course. Refine composition, color, texture, and expressive mark making before completing your artwork in the final week.
- Week 6: Complete a finished pastel artwork that reflects your personal style and growing technical confidence. The course concludes with guidance on presentation, preservation, and a supportive group critique celebrating each participant’s artistic growth.
This is an introductory-level Studio Class; it is designed to accommodate all levels of skill and talent. If you have never taken an art making class before, this is a great place to start. You will learn new skills that you can use in your artistic practice.
Please note that in the event of a session being canceled, November 17 is reserved as a makeup date.
About Studio Classes
Expand your art-making skills through guided, step-by-step instruction with expert instructor. Over multiple weeks, you will learn alongside other creative adults and delve deeply into the artistic process, explore new techniques, and build your practice.
The registration fee includes all materials, weekly access to world-class art in the museum’s galleries, hours of expert instruction, and access to a Friday afternoon Open Studio during the run of the class.
About your Instructor
Jaffia Royes (she/her) is a multidisciplinary visual artist and educator with more than 17 years of experience in arts education (and more than two decades of studio practice). Originally based in New York and now working in Georgia, Jaffia’s art has been exhibited nationally. Art instruction remains a vital extension of her studio practice, and she works with learners of all ages and experience levels, providing instruction that spans drawing, painting, printmaking, and sculpture. Balancing technical rigor with creative exploration, Jaffia supports learners in developing both their skills and authentic visual voices. Through artist-led creative experiences, she encourages adults to engage with artmaking as an ongoing practice of discovery. Royes holds a bachelor’s degree in studio art with a concentration in painting from Florida State University, and she maintains an active practice across multiple disciplines while specializing in oil painting.
