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Recently we held our Eleventh National Show. We are proud to announce our winners below. If you would like to see all the paintings accepted into the show, they are all listed in the Show Catalog.

The 11th Arkansas Pastel Society National Show will be held Nov. 21, 2025 – Dec. 12, 2025 at the North Little Rock Argenta Public Library – 420 Main St. – North Little Rock, AR  72114.

The opening of the Show and Artists’ Reception will be held November 21, 2025 from 5:30 to 7:30 at the NLR Argenta Public Library.

Click here for the Online Catalog of the Show. All artists accepted to the show, prices, contact information and photos of the paintings can be seen in the Catalog. Winners will be listed after the show opens.

 Colette Odya Smith, Juror

A lifelong Wisconsin native, Ms. Smith is a painter of contemporary landscapes that often blur the distinctions between realism and abstraction. She earned her degree in Fine Art, Humanities, and Education at Macalester College in St. Paul and then taught public school art. A pastel class at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design set her on her career path. Ms. Smith works from her home and studio in Wauwatosa, WI, not far from where she was raised. While her extensive travels nationally and internationally have expanded her vision and insights, she remains at heart a midwestern girl in love with the richness of the landscape she is grounded in.

 Her paintings have received over 70 regional, national, and international awards.  Ms. Smith has written articles and juried for the Pastel Journal and The Artists Magazine. She has been honored as a Maître Pastelliste by the Societe des Pastellistes de France, Master Pastelist and Advisory Board Member by the Pastel Society of America, Eminent Pastelist and Masters’ Circle member by the International Association of Pastel Societies, and Distinguished Pastelist by the Pastel Society of New Mexico.

Several members of APS spent a lovely Saturday recently with instructor Vic Mastis exploring new surfaces and mixed media tools to use with pastels.  We played with patterned papers, spray paints, stencils and various mark-making options, and everyone ended up with unique studies as a result.  Vic shared some fun techniques that she’s been using and participants were encouraged to experiment with the materials and references on hand. 

Vic said “I can’t believe all the beautiful artwork that was started and produced!!  Time went too fast.  Pat yourself on the back for trying new things and going with it!”

(Note: Participant Carol Rivas had to leave before the group photo was taken).

We have a brand new page on our website. It is a place for us to read about ideas, techniques, products and other tips. These articles will be written by our members. The first one is written by our President, Caprise Cooper. It highlights the procedure and materials she uses to paint her series of “Old Rusty Vehicles”.

What a spectacular evening! Thank you Ozark Pastel Society for coordinating this joint membership show with the Arkansas Pastel Society. Shout out to John Brown University for hosting us in the lovely gallery.

On December 2nd members met at the home of APS member Anne Parat for the annual Christmas party. Great treats were brought and shared. A short business meeting was held to elect APS officers for 2024. It has become a tradition to hold a drawing for a prize for members who renew their membership or new members who join the day before the annual Christmas party. This year’s drawing winner was Caprise Cooper.

Our National Show was held in November. The Best of Show was won by Dennis McCann for the painting “Looks Like Rain”.

A list and photo of all 2023 National Show winners can be found under Past Exhibitions.

During August of 2023 the Arkansas Pastel Society learned they had been approved to receive one of three global grants awarded by the International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS). The chosen project was to work with Seis Puentes Hispanic Outreach, a non-profit organization in North Little Rock

More information about how our grant money was used.

Arkansas Pastel Society’s 2023 non-juried members show recently exhibited at the Thea Foundation
gallery in downtown North Little Rock. This year the Arkansas Pastel Society invited the Ozark
Pastel Society to exhibit with them. It was so successful that we have decided to do it again next
year with the Ozark Pastel Society hosting at John Brown University.

An estimated 400 people attended the reception on July 21. The exhibit featured 40 artists,
17 from OPS and 23 from APS with a total of 74 paintings hanging in the show.

This year people attending the reception were asked to cast a ballot for their favorite painting
in the show for the, “The Peoples’ Choice Award,” won by Margi Tucker of the Ozark Pastel
Society for her painting “Raven Feather.”

The exhibit also featured storyboards which recorded the progression of a painting from start
to finish, live demonstrations and a hands-on pastel experience.