Date: Saturday 5 & Sunday 6 December, 2026
Time: 9:30am – 4pm & 10am – 4pm
Cost: $210 or $180 NEAS members
A weekend workshop with master pastelliste, Caroline Reid
Day 1 Abstracting Your Favourite Flower
Soft pastels and mixed media
This lively and fun workshop invites you to dive into the unique world of Australian native flowers—hakea, orchids, waratahs, banksias and more – or introduced flowers if you prefer. We’ll explore their bold structures, hidden rhythms and wild personalities through a process-first approach to abstraction.
The day begins with fun blind-drawing and mark-making warm-ups that disconnect the eye from the hand, loosening control and opening the door to spontaneity. These quirky, imperfect, wonderfully alive marks become the seeds for further exploration using coloured inks, vibrant soft pastel, black calligraphy ink and gestural Sharpie lines. As the layers build, the natural flow, form and movement of each flower begin to reveal itself in unexpected ways out of direct control.
Across a series of short, energetic projects, you’ll experiment freely with mixed media—embracing line, colour, contrast, fluidity, accident and play. The workshop culminates in adding a final, luminous touch of soft pastel to bring light, energy and focus to your abstract compositions.
Walk away with a collection of vibrant abstract works, a deeper understanding of the exciting qualities of Australian flora, and a toolkit of adventurous techniques to energise your ongoing art practice.
Day 2
Shadows in the Landscape
soft pastels only
Discover how light and shadow bring landscape paintings to life in this immersive workshop. Learn the science of light and the use of shadows in the history of art. Understanding light’s behaviour allows you to use shadow not just visually, but truthfully and poetically.
Blending science and art, you’ll explore how shadows define form and structure, create contrast and drama, and shape the mood and rhythm of a composition.
Through demonstrations and guided exercises, you’ll learn why shadows are not the absence of light — but it’s essential counterpart, revealing depth, atmosphere, and emotional resonance in the landscape.
Working with soft pastels, participants will apply these principles to a final class project: a luminous summer landscape.
MATERIALS PROVIDED BY TUTOR
Day 1: Most materials supplied except paper
Day 2: Please bring your own supply of pastels. If you need advice on pastels please contact us.
Caroline will have A3 watercolour or A3 Pastelmat ($10 a sheet) for sale- if students do not bring their own paper
Materials List for students to bring
- 10 sheets of 300GSM watercolour paper A3 size
- BYO native flower/s from your garden or florist
- Apron
- Blue masking tape, wet wipes
- Black Sharpie-type pens of different sizes and shapes
- Paper towel, pencil, ruler, microfibre cloth
- One inch wide rough flat cheap bristle brush
- Day 2 – A3 white Pastelmat paper
- Day 2 – A set of landscape pastels with a good range of values and landscape colours – approximately 40 sticks
possible brands. Sennelier, Schminke, Blue Earth, BlockX, Art Spectrum, Jacksons, Holbein, Terry Ludwig
If you need advice about pastels please contact the gallery.
Artist Profile
Caroline Reid is a contemporary landscape artist based in Canberra, on Ngunnawal Country in Australia. She draws deep inspiration from the rugged, semi-alpine terrain that surrounds her—flanked by mountain ranges to the east and west, and the Snowy Mountains to the south.
Though art has always been part of her life, Caroline spent many years working in science and industry policy, leaving little time to pursue a professional art career. It was through en plein air painting that she reconnected with her creative practice, using it as a path to physical and emotional recovery, grounded in her profound care for the natural world.
For Caroline, the life force in nature is endlessly restorative. She is especially drawn to the wild beauty of Kosciuszko National Park and the remote areas of Namadgi National Park. There, the movement of water and the warmth of sunlight are more than just elements—they’re the vital energies that breathe life into the landscapes she paints.
Her work spans a variety of styles, from realism to impressionism to abstraction, with a particular love for soft pastel and watercolour as her mediums of choice.
Book at the Gallery
A deposit of $50 will secure your spot. Numbers are limited. You can pay over the phone using credit card.
For further information phone: 0423 520 073 / After Hours: 0421 990 336. Or email the gallery.