After several years of following Tom Christopher on Instagram, I had the opportunity to take one of his Workshops. Tom has a unique process for creating texture and movement in his work. He graciously shared his process during a two-day workshop hosted by the Ozark Pastel Society and some members of the Arkansas Pastel Society joined as well. The first morning was spent learning the process Tom uses to create the underpainting. Then he worked his magic during a demo as he shared his thoughts on value’s importance over color, mark making, standing back often, and keeping it simple. Let the human eye knit it together.

The afternoon was our turn to try his process for the underpainting and mesh it in with our developed mark making style. Tom walked the room and provided guidance and praise to each of the artists.

Day 2 was the same flow as Day 1; however, our focus was a snow scene. At the end of Day 2 we came together as a group and Tom critiqued each artist’s piece. It was amazing to see all the wonderful pieces using Tom’s process, yet each artist added their own flair. I was in awe, the work of this group of artists was stellar!

I will definitely be leveraging this process in some future pieces. Thank you Tom!