PSME presents educational programs which are typically held in conjunction with a General Membership Meeting. Programs include but are not limited to: pastel demonstrations, pertinent topic lectures or demonstrations, gallery tours, membership painting challenges, and plein air paint-outs. For more information complete the inquiry form on the CONTACT PSME page.  

Demos are Free to PSME MEMBERS in good standing. If you need to JOIN or renew your membership: https://www.pastelsocietyofmaine.org/join

Check below !!

At the Pastel Society of Maine, we host a variety of programs year-round for our members, with select opportunities also open to guests. Our 2025 offerings will be announced throughout the year, so please check back regularly for updates! In the meantime, feel free to scroll down and explore our current and past programs.

** EVENTS for 2026 **

NEW FOR 2026 * MEMBER PAINTING CHALLENGES

If you need to JOIN or renew your membership: https://www.pastelsocietyofmaine.org/join

We are excited to announce a monthly Painting Challenge to our Pastel Society of Maine membership! This was a recent suggestion at board meetings, and Polly Castor has kindly taken up the coordination for us. 

We invite you to copy all of the monthly topics listed below, and note deadlines for sending in images you may wish to paint, or have already painted, by the appropriate deadline. An email will arrive around the 1st of each month with a reminder of the next month's prompt, a brief explanation of the prompt, and a pdf document showing previous prompt, date, images submitted, name, and titles.

Every third month, we'll plan a Zoom get together to discuss the prompt and members' approaches to it. Please note that these zoom sessions are not mandatory, and explicitly NOT critiques, but simply convivial discussions exploring a topic together. We seek a positive, supportive, and curious environment. A powerpoint will be shared during the zoom to facilitate this discussion.

We expect to have different prompts next year, and each year will be skipping the months November, December, and January.

If you would like to participate in a given month, we ask for only one image per person, cropped to the painting's edges, and emailed to PollyCastor@gmail.com (in jpg format) before the due date. (Any questions you can direct to that same email.)

Our hope is that you will stretch yourself through these prompts and do something you may not have done otherwise. We have opted not to put these paintings on the website, and instead, to share them only with members. Keeping them private encourages exploration, experimentation, and risk, safe in our supportive community. 

Here are the prompts (and please put the zoom dates on your calendar):

Due February 28: Your Painted Response to Jen Evenhus' Demo

Due March 31: Use Pattern in a Still Life

Due April 25: (with discussion on zoom Sunday, April 26 at 4pm): Paint a Landscape Without Local Color

Due May 31: A Bouquet of Flowers

Due June 30: A Plein Air Painting Done in Under One Hour

Due July 31: (with discussion on zoom Sunday, August 2 at 4pm):  How Do You Paint Rocks?

Due August 31: An Abstract Personification of August

Due September 30: Mostly Warm Colors in the Landscape

Due Oct 30 (with discussion on zoom on Sunday, November 1 at 4pm): A High Contrast Painting.

We look forward to playing with these prompts together, and getting to know each other better in this way, while expanding our understanding and use of pastels.

We hope you join in some or all of the fun!

SUmmer Plein Air Outings

Get ready to paint outdoors! The Pastel Society of Maine hosts plein air meet-ups throughout the summer at various locations across the state. These gatherings, typically scheduled from June through September, are designed to bring PSME members together to enjoy painting and socializing amidst Maine's many beautiful venues. Our aim is to offer artists a glimpse of new views and vistas while fostering connection.

Look for more detailed information on our 2025 schedule coming soon! In the meantime, if you're interested in hosting a gathering in your corner of Maine this summer, please contact member Kay Etheridge to coordinate a date and location. You can reach Kay directly or simply use our general CONTACT form.

Unofficial Plein Air Gathering * September * Monhegan Island

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PRIOR Programs & Demos:

2025 Fall Member Show, Brunswick, ME, with demo by Wade Zahares

2025 Workshop, Brunswick, ME with ALINE ORDMAN

2025 Winter Wine & Watch program with demo by Lyn Asselta,   Anne Strutz,   Lisa Regopoulos, Robert Carston 

2024 Demos & Abstraction Workshop with Polly Castor

2024 Summer Plein Air Outings hosted by individual Pastel Society of Maine members at locations throughout the state

2024 Annual Open Juried Exhibition Demo with Lyn Diefenbach, IAPS Eminent Pastellist, Pastel Society of Australia Master Pastellist, PSA Signature Member

2024 Winter Wine & Watch programs with demos by Mark Ivan Cole, Colette Odya Smith, Carol Strock Wasson, & Clarence Porter

2023 Member Exhibit Demo with Lyn Asselta, PSME Member and IAPS Eminent Pastellist and PSA Master Pastellist.

2023 Member Exhibit Demo with Claudette Gamache, IAPS Eminent Pastellist and PSA Signature Pastellist.

2023 Wade Zahares for the Pop-Up Open Studio,  published pastellist and PSME member.

2023 Open Exhibition Demos by Terrilynn Dubreuil & Tara Will Sept 9

2023 Norlands Board Meeting, mansion tour, lunch and paint out.

2023 Nugget Nights with Terrilynn Dubreuil , PSA * Four sessions of fundamentals, great for newcomers and experienced soft pastellists. Videos free for PSME Members: PSME email

2023 Pastel Demonstration by Christina Davis January 7

2022 Pastel Demonstration by Laurinda O’Connor October 21

2022 Abstraction Workshop with Polly Castor September

2022 Workshops for children and adults at the Coastal Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, Maine May 28

2022 STUDIO VISIT Wade Zahares May 14

2022 WORKSHOP & DEMO Tara Will April 13

2022 DEMO Andrew McDermott March 16

2022 DEMO February 16 Aline Ordman

2022 PRESENTATION January 12 Polly Castor LINK TO PUBLIC VIDEO: Polly Castor Presentation

2021 DEMO: Laura Pollak

2021 DEMO: Jeri Greenberg “Interiors”

2021 DEMO: “Frosty Bunny” with Rita Kirkman

2021 DEMO: "Hone the Hues” with Terrilynn Dubreuil

2020 “Prep My Photos” CLICK HERE then scroll down page for INFO & VIDEO LINK (free video)

2019 “My Travels with Pastel” with Suzanne deLesseps

2017 PSME Informal Paint Out - Maine Audubon’s Gilsland Farm, Falmouth, Maine  

2017 Developing Realistic Textures in Pastel Paintings with Nancy Lovley, Brunswick, Maine

2017 Facebook and Social Media for Artists with Geraldine Aikman, PSME and ENGINE, Biddeford, Maine

Resources from Programs:

"Social Media for Artists" informational materials distributes at the PSME February 2017 Educational Program. For a copy click here.

 "Things You Should Know Before You Visit A Framer" informational material distributed at PPOM May 2015 General Membership Meeting. For a copy, click here.

Any questions, please CONTACT PSME here.