Our Mission

The Gateway Pastel Artists' goal aims to unite artists interested in pastel media through the usage of programs, critiques and technical support from one another.The society also helps members reach their optimum potential as artists. As pastel artists, we create awareness of pastels' beauty, versatility and permanence in art galleries and the general public.

Membership is open to anyone working in pastel or interested in the medium.

The Gateway Pastel Artists is affiliated with the International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS) whose objective is “to celebrate worldwide, the expanding presence of Dry Pastel as a major fine art painting medium,” and to “provide a strong voice for pastel artists and the luminous medium of "Pastel".” IAPS is a non-profit organization representing pastel societies uniting in a common cause — to demonstrate the validity and quality of pastel fine art around the world.

Next GPA meeting is Monday, April 12th

Barbara Remely Martin will be demonstrating how she creates her urban landscapes. The above pastel painting is an example of Barbara's urban Landscapes.  This painting is
a night sidewalk scene in Cripple Creek, Colorado.

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Announcing the April Madness Challenge: For our April meeting the challenge is to paint something that depicts your vision of SPRING. Paint anything you want as long as it says "spring" to you. You have to create your painting between now and our April 12 meeting, and you must use pastels, soft or oil. Any size you feel comfortable with. Bring it to the meeting and those in attendance will vote on our favorite and award a prize.

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Congratulations to Springfield, Missouri GPA Member, Marla Rush-Parnell.  February and March have been good months for her.  Her painting "Sunbath" of her Shetland sheepdog was awarded the top honors in February, when it was named Best in Show at the 24th Annual Art Show At The Dog Show in Wichita, Kansas. This art exhibition is a national juried fine arts competition dedicated to canine art, and is held in conjunction with the Sunflower Cluster Dog Shows sponsored by Purina and the Sunflower Cluster Kennel Clubs of Kansas.

Parnell’s award winning pastel painting depicts the family’s Shetland sheepdog. “I see paintings everywhere that light plays across and unexpectedly illuminates form. The morning I saw our sheltie, Angel, laying in the sun on my studio floor, the image was just breathtaking. Exciting backlight and reflections prompted me to catch the moment,” said Parnell.

To top that exciting news off Marla just received notification that she has been elected a juried associate member of the Pastel Society of America.

Now The Really Good News!!!  Marla is going to be our May 10th, GPA Meeting speaker and demonstrate how to paint pets and animals in pastel.  To see more of her pastel art visit her website www.parnellstudios.com

Website News

We are going to update the Gateway Pastel Artist's Website in April and add photos of paintings by our members.  Any member that wants to have a page showing off their pastel art needs to send me three digital photos.  The images need to be in .jpg format and at least 600 pixels in size on their long side. If you send me your contact information (phone, e-mail and website) we will also post it on your page. Send your images to my e-mail address garry@imaginagrapher.com or call me at 314 773-4112 if you have questions.

All artwork and materials contained on this website are copyrighted by the artist whose work is represented. No image or picture may be downloaded or copied without written permission from the artist. Many of the painting images you will see on the Gateway Pastel Artists website may be available for sale in original or in print form by contacting the artist directly or through inquiry to the webmaster.