Drawing with Oil Pastels w/Meadows&Skies

Explore the world of oil pastels in my class—an ideal medium for all skill levels. Oil pastels are fun, easy to learn, and versatile dry media. That’s why it’s a perfect medium to explore in a short class. Learn oil pastel basics, materials, and techniques such as heavy and light pressure blending, layering, color mixing, gradient, and stippling while refreshing simple color theory approaches. Then, dive into a landscape drawing to demonstrate the learned techniques on paper using easy-to-intermediate reference pictures available in the classroom. Participants sit in groups of 2-4, sharing sets of oil pastels for a cozy, collaborative, and enriching experience. No previous experience is required—just enthusiasm for creative discovery!

Ilgi Toprak is a native of Istanbul living in Washington, DC. She is trained as an architect, with intensive art and sketching coursework. She views being creative as more than a pursuit but a way of life. That is why, in 2020, she created a piece of art every day and started the Instagram account Meadows & Skies. She finds joy in translating the everyday beauty of nature using oil pastels. Through her artwork on Meadows & Skies, she focuses on capturing fleeting moments like sunsets and sunrises. One of her sunrise drawings is featured in SHE:DC in 2024.
Ilgi is a design educator with ten years of university-level design teaching experience in Turkey and the Netherlands. She specializes in teaching architectural design studio and basic design courses that involve practical demonstrations of design techniques and concepts, hands-on experience and guidance in studio setting. She holds a Ph.D. in architecture and is currently a researcher in urban studies.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

1121 King St, 1121 King Street, Alexandria, United States