GLOW AND SHADOW: OIL PASTEL WORKSHOP WITH EZEKIEL ABASSA at the Gainesville Fine Arts Association
DATE: Sunday, November 23, 2025
TIME: 1 - 4
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: November 21, 2025
A step-by-step oil pastel session focused on a modern still life. If your last memory of oil pastels is that waxy school set, or you’ve heard they’re “impossible”, this class will change that. The goal is simple: leave confident, you were always able to do this! We’ll start with an easy warm‑up on the fundamentals of light and shadow: finding the light source, spotting the big value shapes, and learning the simple parts. We’ll practice seeing these as clear shapes and matching them with colors, then use smooth finger blending to connect it all together. We will go over how to hold the pastel, light vs. heavy pressure, spotting simple light‑and‑shadow shapes, and smooth finger blending. Then we’ll build the artwork in easy stages with big shapes first, color layers next, and a bright highlight to finish. By the end, you’ll walk away with your own frame‑worthy oil pastel piece and a simple process you can repeat at home.
COST: (includes 24-color oil pastel set to take home!)
Member Benefit: $17
Non-Members: $32
Register at www.gainesvillefinearts.org/workshops
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Ezekiel “Zulu” Abassa is a Gainesville-based visual artist working in oil and soft pastels. Rooted in nature, music, and community, he paints what people feel and remember. How our own lens shapes what we see (umwelt). He’s known for luminous light-and-shadow, bold yet measured color, and tactile marks that keep the touch of the hand. Lately his work moves between expressive faces, modern still lifes, and the “third places” where everyday life unfolds, inviting quiet reflection and empathy.
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