Hill Country Still Life in Oil Pastels

This class is inspired by “little Dutch Masters”, a European art genre where small still life paintings were imbued with dramatic lighting and captured with realism in oil paint. Typically, the objects each represent something meaningful.


In our beginner lesson, students will learn the basics of composition by arranging and photographing a still life with elements from the Texas Hill Country environment- deer bones, cowboy boots, owl feathers, and locally grown flowers, in addition to shiny and transparent containers, against a solid backdrop. We will photograph and print our still life images, and draw the composition accurately on fine black paper, using the x-grid transfer method. Finally, we will layer on rich oil using pastels, focusing on value, texture, and color.


Get ready to impress your friends with your newfound mastery of realism and light in drawing. You will be surprised what you can skillfully execute with a little technique know-how!