Oil Pastel

Oil Pastel

Adult Class | Registration opens Monday, July 6, 2026 8:00 AM EDT

New offering! All levels welcome.
9/8/2026-9/11/2026
1:00 PM-4:00 PM EDT on Tue
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$325.00
$295.00
$47.00
$20.00

Oil Pastel

Adult Class | Registration opens Monday, July 6, 2026 8:00 AM EDT

Dive into the luminous, velvety world of soft pastels—a deeply expressive medium that bridges the line between drawing and painting. In this course, you'll explore a range of mark-making and blending techniques unique to soft pastels, known for their rich pigmentation, lush texture, and painterly qualities. Subjects can include still life, figure, photography, or abstract compositions—your interests will shape your direction.  Soft pastels invite a tactile and intuitive approach to color. We’ll work with their strengths: broad, sensuous applications, layering for depth, and subtle transitions through finger-blending and tools. You'll also discover how to pair soft pastels with complementary media such as watercolor, and charcoal to expand your expressive range.

What You Will Learn: 
- How and when to use soft pastels effectively in contrast to hard pastels and pastel pencils.
- Color theory principles: analogous and complementary colors, contrast, cohesion, and expressive palettes.
- Application techniques specific to soft pastel: scumbling, feathering, layering, and blending with fingers or tools.
- Tonal and linear modeling with soft edges and painterly transitions 

  • Please bring the following items to the first day of class. The instructor will advise on additional materials based on the artists interest and work from there.  

    - A set of 50 or more oil pastels. Bring what you have!  If you are just starting with the medium, the SAKURA Cray-Pas Expressionist Oil Pastel Set - Soft Oil Pastels for Artists - 50 Sticks is a good choice to start for this class. 
    - A pad of mixed media paper 9" x 12" or larger
    - Newsprint pad
    - Selection of pencils for sketching

Bernard Collins

Exhibitions: Gallery Soho 20, Chelsea NY Gallery Ciano, Philadelphia PA October Gallery: Philadelphia PA Walt Whitman Cultural Center, Camden NJ Fox Gallery, Philadelphia, PA. Zonks Art Gallery, Philadelphia, PA Art in City Hall, Philadelphia, PA Community College of Philadelphia The African American Museum of Philadelphia, “Silent Voices, Loud Echoes”, 2005 The African American Museum of Philadelphia, “Statements”, 2008 The Smithville Mansion, Burlington NJ, 2006 The Hopkins Heritage House, Camden County, NJ, 2006,2007 Community College of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, 2007 The Willingboro Public Library, Willingboro, NJ, 2006

Public Art Mural commissioned by Kingswood Recreational Center, Wilmington Delaware,( Mural project commissioned by The City of Philadelphia, Curran Fulton Correctional Center Mural commissioned by the Cathedral of Fresh Fire, Wilmington Delaware

Graphic Design: “Seasons of Her”, Tonya Marie Evans- Cover design; Illustrated by Bernard Collins Jr “Beyond the Back of the Bus” written by Sandra Turner Barnes; Illustrated by Bernard Collins Jr “Straight from My Heart”, Bill Holmes- Original Book Cover Design; Illustrated by Bernard Collins Jr “Constipated Conversations”, Bro. Life- Cover design; Illustrated by Bernard Collins Jr “1998 Festival of Black Writing” - Poster design Illustrated by Bernard Collins Jr.