The Pastel Society

of the West Coast

WORKSHOPS

Go to our workshop page here to see what’s available and go to the Event Calendar to register for a workshop here

BREAKING NEWS

Pastels USA 2021 has a new format! Go to our dedicated webpage to see how it will work and find the prospectus.

WINNERS OF THE MOOS SHOW ANNOUNCED!!! See the whole show here.

WELCOME!

You don’t have to live on the West Coast to become a member! With PSWC members located around the United State and around the world, the Pastel Society of the West Coast offers a strong voice for expanding the presence of soft pastel as a major fine art painting medium. PSWC was organized in 1984 to promote pastel artists and the soft pastel medium. Today, PSWC is the among most recognized of pastel societies.

BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP

PSWC provides social media channels for pastel education, communication, and exposure for members.
PSWC sponsors two annual juried exhibitions: the PASTELS USA open exhibition to showcase award-winning pastel artwork to public venues and the MEMBERSHIP ONLINE SHOW
Our organization publishes the PSWC Magazine exclusively for members. Click here for the PSWC Magazines.
Pastelist Passion Store.
Artwork critique program with PSWC pastel masters.
Members Art Gallery page on the PSWC website.
PSWC sponsors an Art Scholarship for qualifying students interested in the further study of art.
Because PSWC is a member of IAPs, our members automatically become IAPS artist members and are eligible for IAPS juried exhibitions at prestigious galleries and on the web, as well as participation in the IAPS Convention at discount rates.

The Pastel Society of the West Coast is incorporated as a non-profit organization. The PSWC is run completely by volunteer Board Members. Endowments and bequests are welcome; please contact our President.

As a PSWC member, you are welcome to join our Facebook Group page and please follow us on Instagram as well!

Note: Artwork featured on the website is from artists who entered shows in 2020 Please see show art by clicking Members Only Online Show 2020 to see titles and artists.

© Copyright 2014-19 PSWC
Any images containing original art, or any other creative endeavor on this web site, are copyrighted by the artist, and may in no way be used for any purpose other than viewing online, unless they are part of a written contract agreement, or with specific permission. This restriction INCLUDES: downloading for personal or public use, use in other electronic formats, emailing images or text, re-printing or publishing in any format, resale, copying an image or product idea to pass off as your own. All images are the intellectual and creative property of the artist and/or the client for whom they were created — as the case may be in a contractual agreement. Any alteration or unauthorized use violates the copyright restrictions that have been here set forth.

Every year, PSWC holds the Members Only Online Show (MOOS). The accepted paintings are divided into two categories – general members and signature/distinguished pastelists/pastel laureate members. We are thrilled that this year, 193 artists submitted almost 600 painting for consideration. Our esteemed judge, Gwenneth Barth-White had the difficult, but enjoyable task of narrowing these entries to the 129 you see here. Special Thanks to our MOOS Chairman Dug Waggoner for the outstanding job he has done coordinating all the details that are required to put together this show. He even designed our show logo of Bessie the Bovine!

About Gwenneth Barth-White

American-born Swiss international artist Gwenneth Barth-White is a Maître Pastelliste and Vice-President of the 150-year-old Société des Pastellistes de France; she’s a Master Pastelist of the Pastel Society of America, a member of the IAPS Master Circle, and has been a juror for all of these societies. Her work has been exhibited in Geneva, Gstaad, New York, Toronto, Paris, and in many French and American venues. Gwenneth has lived and worked most of her life in Geneva, Switzerland, having moved there when she was a child. After advanced music studies, she attended the Ecole des Beaux Arts and graduated from the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs. Currently the artist lives in South-West Florida.

With easy access to Europe’s museums, Gwenneth’s early fascination for painting led her to study the ancient techniques and methods of the old masters in depth, and with the encouragement of the American master, Joseph Bowler, she became well known as a portraitist. The beauty and intimacy of the human figure has been the main focus of her work for many years, with still-lifes and landscapes an extra joy. Gwenneth’s work is in collections world-wide, from the U.S.A. and Scandinavia, to the Middle East, Europe and Southeast Asia. Her client list includes leaders of industry, government and diplomacy. Among her more well-known clients are the Sultan of Brunei and his Queen, the entire family of former Saudi Oil Minister Sheik Yamani, and the founders of one of America’s most beautiful museums of contemporary art, the Crosby Kempers. Her work is in Geneva’s Patek Philippe Museum, and has been shown seasonally at the Butler Institute of American Art. Gwenneth’s awards include the International Association of Pastel Society’s top ‘Prix de Pastel’, and first place for portrait and figure in the Pastel Journal’s best 100 paintings competition. The artist’s work has been featured in several international magazines and publications, most recently in the ‘Artists Magazine’ and the French ‘Pratique des Arts’.

A passionate teacher, Gwenneth conducts specialized workshops from France to North America. Her step-by-step portrait-in-pastel DVD is marketed world-wide.