Sutter Street Pastels is my studio away from home - it is a reflection of me. I enjoy its welcoming presence and I extend this welcome to visitors and students. It’s the place where I coach students of all skill levels in application of pastels from start to the completed painting. Everyone works individually on subject matter of their own choosing and they work at their own pace.
In my classes, students use their own photographs for painting reference. Something that the student has photographed or sketched has a more personal meaning, and will make for a more satisfying painting adventure. I will explain concepts and share my 50+ years of painting experiences and give each student my attention and support. I believe that the process, the journey, the focus, is the joy and to explore some “what if’s” along the way is all part of it. I do not expect for my students to copy or learn my style, nor do I want you to. I will teach you as much as I can about the pastel medium, but it's you who finds the artist within you. Paint for your own satisfaction and enjoyment first off.
Class Times
Tuesdays and Wednesdays in Folsom at my studio at 815 Sutter Street Ste "C"
10am to 12 noon and 7pm to 9 pm.
For your first class at Sutter Street Pastels, please arrive a hour earlier for your first session with me so I can do a short demo while you observe. Depending on your experience, you'll either work on your own version of the demo subject or can move on and do your own. I don't expect a new student to complete a painting in one session but to work at a comfortable pace. It's not a competition.
Tuition Fee Information
I offer two class sessions per person per week $100 with a month-long enrollment. Also, occasionally available are single two-hour sessions per week @ $75 per month, Tuesday mornings or evenings.
I'll occasionally have a Saturday session or a trip outdoors for plein air fun.
Instructor Barry Jamison Sutter Street Pastels 530.391.1898
Materials Recommended for my Pastel Classes
Prismacolor Nupastels (96 sticks)- minimum (Mandatory)
The Sennelier Paris selection 120 half-stick set is a great addition to a pastelists' arsenal...this set is very versatile, the pastels are very soft and have an exceptional color range.
Pastel pencils- dark brown, dark grayish blue, sky blue, sanguine ( I use Carb Othello)
Bulldog Drawing clips
1” wide blue painters tape (not from dollar store)
Factis brand or white vinyl eraser- NO KNEADED ERASERS (they leave gooey residue on sanded paper!)
Small, Stiff brush- “Old School” Typewriter eraser pencils with the brush on them are excellent also! Pencil tip erasers are good, too
Moist Towlettes to clean hands
Paper towels
Drawing Board 20 x 25 inches approx. One can go to a big-box hardware store and get a piece of 1/4" pressboard cut to an even bigger size.
I have available at my studio my own brand of sanded paper I make, which is very similar to Art Spectrum® brand paper but perhaps a tad toothier. I use a toned, medium - value paper and rarely use white.
In my classes, students use their own photographs for painting reference. Something that the student has photographed or sketched has a more personal meaning, and will make for a more satisfying painting adventure. I will explain concepts and share my 50+ years of painting experiences and give each student my attention and support. I believe that the process, the journey, the focus, is the joy and to explore some “what if’s” along the way is all part of it. I do not expect for my students to copy or learn my style, nor do I want you to. I will teach you as much as I can about the pastel medium, but it's you who finds the artist within you. Paint for your own satisfaction and enjoyment first off.
Class Times
Tuesdays and Wednesdays in Folsom at my studio at 815 Sutter Street Ste "C"
10am to 12 noon and 7pm to 9 pm.
For your first class at Sutter Street Pastels, please arrive a hour earlier for your first session with me so I can do a short demo while you observe. Depending on your experience, you'll either work on your own version of the demo subject or can move on and do your own. I don't expect a new student to complete a painting in one session but to work at a comfortable pace. It's not a competition.
Tuition Fee Information
I offer two class sessions per person per week $100 with a month-long enrollment. Also, occasionally available are single two-hour sessions per week @ $75 per month, Tuesday mornings or evenings.
I'll occasionally have a Saturday session or a trip outdoors for plein air fun.
Instructor Barry Jamison Sutter Street Pastels 530.391.1898
Materials Recommended for my Pastel Classes
Prismacolor Nupastels (96 sticks)- minimum (Mandatory)
The Sennelier Paris selection 120 half-stick set is a great addition to a pastelists' arsenal...this set is very versatile, the pastels are very soft and have an exceptional color range.
Pastel pencils- dark brown, dark grayish blue, sky blue, sanguine ( I use Carb Othello)
Bulldog Drawing clips
1” wide blue painters tape (not from dollar store)
Factis brand or white vinyl eraser- NO KNEADED ERASERS (they leave gooey residue on sanded paper!)
Small, Stiff brush- “Old School” Typewriter eraser pencils with the brush on them are excellent also! Pencil tip erasers are good, too
Moist Towlettes to clean hands
Paper towels
Drawing Board 20 x 25 inches approx. One can go to a big-box hardware store and get a piece of 1/4" pressboard cut to an even bigger size.
I have available at my studio my own brand of sanded paper I make, which is very similar to Art Spectrum® brand paper but perhaps a tad toothier. I use a toned, medium - value paper and rarely use white.
About the Pastel Medium and my classes
Pastels are regarded universally as paintings, even though they are produced in a mostly drawing-like process. Pastels are permanent (AND more so) than any other medium. Pastel paintings from the 17th century are as fresh today as when they were first put down. I consider them to be a perfect segue between drawing and painting- the tactile sensations of laying pastel down on sanded paper is a unique and satisfying discovery. Pastels are made of finely ground mineral pigments, not dyes, and a binding agent. Cheap pastels use a lot of materials like calcium carbonate (aka chalk) and augment the mineral pigments with dyes which are not as permanent. Cheap art materials will frustrate the hell out of you. They don't cover well, colors are off and so on.
Oil pastels- are sticks rather more like crayons as they are made of ground pigments, flax oil and other stuff. I don't use them, don't know much about them and so do not teach them.
"Soft" pastels can be confusing in that within this "soft" category there are hard "soft" pastels and varying degrees of soft pastels. On smoother papers one will find a softer pastel such as Sennelier or Schmincke will be more effective.
Hard pastels (I use Nupastels and Polychromos) are very effective on a sanded paper such as I have available for my classes (I make my own). I use the Nupastels first as a blocking-in layer and then continue on with softer pastels such as Rembrandts, Grumbachers, Senneliers, Great American, Diane Townsends, etc...or not- maybe hard pastels will be all I need. Sometimes, laying in a background color and then applying isopropyl alcohol (via brush) is a necessary step that makes exciting things happen.
Pastel paintings are typically framed using a mat or spacers to create a space between the glass and the artwork. This is to protect the image- I never use a final fixative to secure the pastel. Some artists will place the glass directly onto the pastel but I will not- the idea bothers me.
Pastels are regarded universally as paintings, even though they are produced in a mostly drawing-like process. Pastels are permanent (AND more so) than any other medium. Pastel paintings from the 17th century are as fresh today as when they were first put down. I consider them to be a perfect segue between drawing and painting- the tactile sensations of laying pastel down on sanded paper is a unique and satisfying discovery. Pastels are made of finely ground mineral pigments, not dyes, and a binding agent. Cheap pastels use a lot of materials like calcium carbonate (aka chalk) and augment the mineral pigments with dyes which are not as permanent. Cheap art materials will frustrate the hell out of you. They don't cover well, colors are off and so on.
Oil pastels- are sticks rather more like crayons as they are made of ground pigments, flax oil and other stuff. I don't use them, don't know much about them and so do not teach them.
"Soft" pastels can be confusing in that within this "soft" category there are hard "soft" pastels and varying degrees of soft pastels. On smoother papers one will find a softer pastel such as Sennelier or Schmincke will be more effective.
Hard pastels (I use Nupastels and Polychromos) are very effective on a sanded paper such as I have available for my classes (I make my own). I use the Nupastels first as a blocking-in layer and then continue on with softer pastels such as Rembrandts, Grumbachers, Senneliers, Great American, Diane Townsends, etc...or not- maybe hard pastels will be all I need. Sometimes, laying in a background color and then applying isopropyl alcohol (via brush) is a necessary step that makes exciting things happen.
Pastel paintings are typically framed using a mat or spacers to create a space between the glass and the artwork. This is to protect the image- I never use a final fixative to secure the pastel. Some artists will place the glass directly onto the pastel but I will not- the idea bothers me.