Painting the Light:

with Rita Kirkman

Key Dates: 

• Workshop: October 8-10, 2025 (3 days)
• 18 total registrants
• MPS Member Registration Begins: August 15, 2025
• Non-Member Registration Opens: September 15, 2025

Workshop Description:

This intensive three-day workshop will teach you how to infuse your paintings with warm sunlight. You will learn to nail your values using an acrylic-based underpainting, then identify and utilize color temperatures to make your paintings glow!

Accompanying concepts include simplicity of composition, color harmony, and frequent small works for more rapid improvement. This workshop is not subject specific. You can work from your own photos of whatever subject you prefer. I will be sharing some of my own photos too. I will be demoing mostly animals, with at least one landscape thrown into the mix.

Kirkman has been using pastel since she was 11 years old. Since 2003 she has consistently won major awards in national and international competitions. She is a Pastel Society of America Master Pastelist and an Eminent Pastelist with the International Association of Pastel Societies.

Her paintings have been featured in the Pastel Journal and the Pratique des Arts Spécial Pastel, and published in many others. Her work is in public and private collections worldwide. In 2020 she created a Patreon page, full of demo videos and art tips.

Details: 

• Cost: $345
• Dates: October 8-10, 2025
• Location: Compass Atelier, 10335 Kensington Parkway, Kensington MD 20895
• Registration opens for Members 4 weeks before non-members.
• supply list Kirkman F2F pastel workshop 2025.pdf

Registration:

• Class size is limited to 18 and will be filled on a first-come, first served basis with priority given to Maryland Pastel Society members.  
• Accommodations, meals, and supplies not included.  Tables, chairs, and easels will be provided.  
• Full payment is required at the time of registration. Multiple payment options are available: credit card or check.   

IMPORTANT NOTE: Completion of the registration form AND receipt of full payment of $345 will place you on the roster.  A confirmation email will be sent to you after your full payment is received.  

Fall General Meeting

at

The Compass Atelier

10335 Kensington Pkwy, Kensington, MD 20895

Rita Kirkman will be demonstrating. We are honored to have Rita as the judge and juror of selection for the MPS National Juried Exhibition, "Shades of Pastel 2025" which will be on display at the Glenview Mansion in Rockville, Maryland from October 12 - November 26, 2025.

Rita Kirkman is an extraordinary pastel artist known for her vibrant portraits of both people and animals. Her style showcases her uncanny ability to manipulate light and color to create a breathtaking glow on all of her subjects. Rita's formal education includes a BFA degree from the University of Dayton in 1988. She attended Coppini Academy of Fine Art in San Antonio, TX, from 2001-2003, and attended many pastel workshops from other renowned artists since 2001. She is a Pastel Society of America Master pastelist and an Eminent Pastelist with the International Association of Pastel Societies.

She has consistently won major awards in national and international competitions. Her work has been featured in the Pastel Journal and the Pratique des Arts Spécial Pastel, and published in many others. Her work is in public and private collections all over the world, including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, Japan, Africa and Australia.

Visit ritakirkman.com to view Rita's paintings.

Shades of Pastel 2025

NATIONAL JURIED EXHIBITION

October 12-November 26, 2025   

at the Glenview Mansion
603 Edmonston Drive
Rockville, MD 20851

    Click here to see prospectus and to enter.