Moors, Skies and Ancient Stones
Sat 17th Oct 2026 @ Sheffield Botanic Gardens
Join me for a one day soft pastel & charcoal workshop this October inspired by the dramatic moors, skies, and ancient stones that can be found in the British Isles. We will be working with acrylic paint, soft pastel and charcoal to create multi layered and textured pieces using a specialist pastel ground technique.
Over the course of the day you will have the opportunity to create 2 pieces on this theme, one in full colour incorporating soft pastel and the other a monochrome piece incorporating charcoal.
Some basic drawing or painting experience an advantage, but no experience of pastels or this technique is necessary as everything will be taught step by step.
We will be based inside at the Dorothy Fox Education Centre which is situated within the Sheffield Botanic Gardens.
10am – 4pm
£65
Includes teas, coffees and light refreshments throughout the day and all the specialist pastel ground and paper that you will need.
You will need to provide your own set of pastel sticks, charcoal and a selection of acrylic paints. Guidance will be given on this before the workshop
Previous Workshops
The Kitchen Garden in Soft Pastels and Pastel Pencils – SOLD OUT
Sat 27th June 2026 @ Sheffield Botanic Gardens
Be inspired by the Kitchen Garden; rows of vegetables, pots in the potting shed, the gardener busy working or a small detail like a song bird or the gardeners’ hands sowing seeds. We will be working with pastel pencils to create a loose sketch and a longer more blended piece with a mix of pastel sticks and pencils. Some drawing experience an advantage but no experience of pastels necessary.
10am – 4pm
£65
Includes teas, coffees and light refreshments throughout the day and all the pastel papers you will need.
You will need to provide your own set of pastel sticks and a selection of pastel pencils. Guidance will be given on this before the workshop.
Woodland Wildlife; Foxes, Badgers, Hares and other woodland creatures in Conte Pastel and Charcoal
Sat 15th March 2025 @ The Peveril Centre, Castleton
On this one day workshop Anna will take you through two very different drawing techniques on tinted pastel papers to explore the wide range of effects you can achieve with Conte pastels and willow charcoal. We will make a sanded paper in the workshop using acrylic paints and a specialist pastel ground as well as using a ready made pastel paper with traditional Conte drawing techniques
Our inspiration will be woodland wildlife including badgers, hares and foxes and you will have the opportunity to produce 2 beautiful drawings over the course of the day.
Some drawing experience would be useful, although Anna will guide you expertly through the techniques step by step, so beginners in pastels are welcome.
Fishing Life; Boats and Fishermen in Soft Pastels
On this one day workshop Anna will take you through two very different pastel techniques to explore the wide range of effects you can achieve with this beautiful medium. Our inspiration will be old fishing scenes, sepia photos and weathered fishermen faces. You will produce both a fishing scene and a portrait drawing over the course of the day in sepia tones.
Some drawing experience would be useful, although Anna will guide you expertly through the pastel techniques step by step
Seascapes and Crashing Waves in Soft Pastels
Learn to use the beautiful medium of soft pastels to create rich blended colours and dramatic effects on different types of pastel papers. We will work with the theme of seascapes including rocks, crashing waves, mists and sea spray to create a pastel drawing and a more painterly work on specialist sanded pastel paper. No experience necessary, suitable for beginners and improvers.
Feedback from the Soft Pastel Landscape workshop
“I recently attended Anna’s soft pastel weekend workshop where we had the chance to experiment with different surfaces and techniques to produce drawings and ‘paintings’ of landscapes and buildings. The weekend was packed with information and a good mix of demonstration and practical work with the opportunity to produce a final piece concentrating on the particular surface and techniques that each participant preferred. After this weekend I felt I had a good grasp of how to use soft pastels in different ways and a good foundation on which to build further skills. A very enjoyable weekend.” Lyn
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