Adventures in Soft Pastels:

Relax, connect and tune into your creativity with a fun adventure in color! No experience necessary!!

In this series, you will learn how to use the versatile medium of soft pastels and create vibrant and bold paintings.

Mandar begins his workshops with a live demonstration to help students tap into their own creativity. This is a very interactive part of the class where he shares his technique, style and answers student questions as they arise.

Once inspired, students then go on to create their own works of art. Mandar keeps it relaxed and fun and offers one-on-one instruction to help drive individual progress.

His students have written rave reviews for his workshops. They found them helpful in evolving their art technique, releasing stress and finding inner balance.

Supplies needed for soft pastels class.

  1. Soft Pastels: A great starter brand is Mungyo soft pastels. Cost effective and quality product. Click here for Amazon link. Another option is NuPastels. A little hard, great quality and not to pricey. Click here to buy from Amazon. Other comparable or higher quality brands welcome as well.
  2. Pastel Paper: Uart 400 Sanded pastel paper is a perfect surface for soft pastels. I highly recommend this brand as it has good tooth and can take water during the underpainting process. Click here to buy from Amazon. Ideal paper size fo workshops are 9×12, 12×12 or 11×14 inches. Other comparable quality brands welcome as well.
  3. Fixative: (optional) I like workable fixatives as I can keep building layers on them. Try Kyrlon workable fixative. Click here to buy from Amazon.
  4. Storage: To store your pastel art you can find various different brands of clear bags. I had bought ‘Pack it Chic’ from Amazon as it was on sale. Click here for an Amazon link. But you can just as well buy others that are equally as good. Another option for storing pastel art is using glassine paper. Here is a link to amazon. You want to ideally cut these to at least one inch wider on all sides of your paper size so you can tape it up for protection.
  5. Portable easel and umbrella, drawing board
  6. Clips and clamps or tape to attach paper to the drawing board. Here is a link for office clips. 
  7. A bag to add weight to hold easel down in windy conditions can also be helpful.
  8. 91% rubbing alcohol, cup  and brushes (flats) for underpainting. You can also use water instead of alcohol. Hair dryer is useful for quick drying of water under paintings provided we have access to electricity. If not you need to give more time for drying.
  9. Hat, sunscreen, water bottle 
  10. Sketch pad, pencils, charcoals, pastel pencils

Please feel free to reach Mandar @ [email protected] if you have questions or need clarifications.

Mandar is an award-winning artist based in Alameda, CA who loves to teach soft pastel painting to students of all ages and skill levels. He believes art can truly provide an outlet for self expression and discovery. Exposure to arts can develop into a lifelong pursuit of joy and well-being.

He received People’s Choice award in the 2017 Plein Air Paint Out event held in Alameda, CA. He is inspired by the natural beauty of the San Francisco bay area and loves to capture its magnificence through his vibrant paintings.

Although Mandar worked in the corporate world of finance and investments for 16 years and was formally trained as an MBA and a mechanical engineer, he has been an artist all his life. He decided to follow his true passion and become a full time artist in 2015.

See his art at www.mandarfineart.com.