May 12, 2026 - 7:00pm-9:00pm - Member Meeting
Artist Patricia Duncan, Demonstration
www.patriciaduncanart.com
Location: Christ the King Church, 8600 Fremont Ave S, Bloomington MN

July 14, 4-7pm. - PAINT OUT
Location: Old Cedar Ave. Trail. Follow Old Cedar Ave until it ends at the parking lot.
(Map will be provided in future newsletter)

September 8, 2026 - 7:00pm-9:00pm - Member Meeting
Sue Rowe on the topic of “Experimenting with pastels”
Location: Hastings Art Center, 216 4th St. East, Hastings

November 10, 2026 - 7:00pm-9:00pm - Member Meeting
Becky Jokela on the topic of “Field to Studio”
Location- TBD

Board meetings are held on the first Tuesday of every other month, beginning with January, from 5:30-7:00 via zoom.

Member meetings are the second Tuesday of the same month as the board meeting, from 7-9pm.

At our member meetings we feature guest speakers, demonstrations, materials and equipment information, critiques and exchanges of information and insight to further members' artistic development and our sense of community as a society.

Starting in 2026, to encourage attendance by our members from throughout the state, we will be holding our Member meetings in a variety of locations throughout the Twin Cities.

Tuesday, March 10, 2026

Award winning Pastel Painter Lisa Stauffer presented for the members of Lake Country Pastel Society, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. This was our first ZOOM live streaming event for our group.

Lisa outlined the elements of design and identified how asking “art” questions provides a working frame in which to evaluate your painting.. Composition, value, space, shapes, color, line, texture, focus, edges, rhythm, movement, harmony, unity are some of the design vocabulary to use to direct your critique. Technical skills balance with personality to give voice and keep your piece interesting. Value and composition, color, and how a piece read, grabs attention to be dismissed, or engage the viewer. Competition judges see hundreds of paintings during an exhibit.

Lisa has a strong idea for developing her design concept as she begins a piece. She draws one or more value structures in a thumbnail sketch. By keeping eye level to scene, freely swinging a straight arm in front, Lisa is able to sight with one eye and measure for accurate size comparisons. Drawing skills are important to create a compelling painting. Start with a simple scene or one object still life. Using a red plastic film held straight in front, can help establish a value map. This is followed up with ever more decisions. Experience and practice comes from freely making “mistakes” and learning along the way. Slowing down and looking closely to see what is really in front of you, develops confidence, as does choosing your sticks slowly and comparing one to another. Warm and cool, light and heavy touch, staying within a value range give luminosity to any one area within your structure.

Lisa reminds us that, as our skills develop, we can have more fun with a few bits of punchy color in the area of focus. You can shift from building skills to building emotion into your painting creating a connection with the viewer. So when do you know you are finished with a piece?

Ms. Stauffer shared five examples of her own pastel paintings, yet to be completed. Lisa practices how to step away, to gain fresh perspective when you find yourself lost in the painting, when the light has changed or the weather interrupts. To see her work in a new way, Lisa carefully lays black tape along the painting edges to remove any distracting marks. Other ideas Lisa shared to resolve painting is to ask yourself is, “What is working?” and “What is not?”, and , “Why do I think that?”. The artist gains confidence in interpreting their intent, and begins to respectfully evaluate and resolve their painting.

Dawn Lees
ZOOM participant

Winter Paint In Recap, January 2026

The January 2026 Paint In was held on Saturday, January 10 at the Creative Flow Art Center in Fridley. Large windows, fresh white walls, and bright lights showcased the current "Taking Flight" exhibit at the art center, and inspired the members who attended the Paint In. The Art Center set up tables for us within the exhibit space. Visitors to the gallery admired the finished paintings on the walls and watched as we created our artwork. Dawn chose a flower garden with pops of pink, purple and white flowers, Sandy painted a plant with trailing green vines and red flowers, and Cathy attempted sunflowers in a blue vase. Steve worked on an interesting drawing from a photograph taken from inside a tent! The Art Center staff were enthusiastic supporters of our work and were interested in learning more about pastels. We were happy to share our tips on our favorite brands of pastels and painting equipment.

CHERI GINSBURG MEETING RECAP – NOVEMBER 11, 2025

Cheri was introduced after our short business portion of the meeting. She began with a brief history of her life that led up to becoming a pastel artist. She began her art work as a pen and ink artist. During that time her “job” was working for a cosmetic corporation, working with cosmetics. Sometimes creating new designs while applying the make up. For a short while she also learned about sculpture in Sante Fe after watching a professional create one of his works. Once she started her own family, with her husband, they started a furniture design business. Her favorite part was painting the designs. She was diagnosed with cancer and realized that she had wanted to be a professional artist. She kept her promise to herself that after recovery, she would focus on art and began visiting museums everywhere she went. She realized that many of the paintings that attracted her were done in pastel, so she chose that medium for her career. It was when she looked for a darker black that she discovered pan pastels. Having worked with make-up kits, it was natural for her to pick up on that format.

Cheri bought a set of 80 colors and realized she could create any color she wanted. The paper she was using was Uart 600, but there are two others she can work with as well. She likes working with Hansen pastel boards. She prefers sanded papers over plain ones. The set she purchased came with a full set of applicators, paper and pens. Applicators do not have to be washed. Rubbing them on paper towels will clean them plenty. Do keep a few of the applicators for the lighter values. Use the sponge applicators lightly on the sanded surfaces and you won’t have any problems.

Cheri began her demo on the Hansen pastel board. Once you get used to working with pastels, it is easy to mix colors and achieve the effect you want. After doing an underpainting, she will lightly spray it with alcohol before continuing. She only uses fixatives to lighten or darken a painting, and occasionally give more tooth to her canvas. Mostly her pressure is very light, but it can be easily adjusted if need be. When you are dabbing on the painting, don’t just keep punching the painting, vary your hand position throughout the process. That evening, Cheri mostly finished her painting within the time slot she was given. Following the presentation, people were invited to play with and test the set of pastels she brought along with applicators, and different types of paper.