Pastel Painting – Late Enrollment Available
April 3 @ 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Date: Mondays, March 20th – May 8th
Late Enrollment: Late enrollment is available through
Monday, April 3rd. Makeup classes are unavailable.
Time: 2:00 – 4:30 PM
Sessions: 8
Instructor: Deborah Donahower
Location: Room 208, Printmaking Studio
Ages: Adult, 18+
Skill Level: Beginning – Intermediate
Sliding Scale: $150 / $245 / $360
Financial aid available below
Late enrollment will be available through the third session on Monday, April 3rd. If you can not attend the first or second sessions of instruction but are still interested in enrolling, we encourage you to consider a late enrollment.
This eight-week class will introduce students to basic techniques of using soft pastels as they work alongside the instructor to create landscapes, still lifes, animals and flowers. Learn to layer colors to create luminous, painterly effects. Beginners are guided as they work on the image provided each week; more experienced students may choose to work on an image of their choice. Materials are supplied for this class, but students are invited to bring their own if desired – see the supply list.
Deborah Donahower
Instructor / Artist
Deborah Donahower received her B.A. Degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara in Studio Art, with an emphasis in Ceramics and Printmaking. She has taught for the Hudson River Museum, in Yonkers, New York; the Branson School in Marin; and was the owner/director of Pottery Design Center in Los Angeles and Wisteria Studio in Marin.
She taught ceramics, mosaics and pastels for 10 years through Napa Valley College Community Education Department, and at various elementary schools in the valley. She has won several Best of Show awards and blue ribbons at the Napa County Fair; and had a pastel painting accepted to the National Juried Show at the Sonoma Arts Guild in 2017 and 2019. Currently, she is teaching ceramics and pastels at the Sonoma Community Center, and at three elementary schools (after school art) in Napa, as well as adult art classes in Napa. She has been teaching art to adults and children for 43 years and it is her passion to empower budding artists with the basic foundation skills in art, and help them bloom into their own creativity and personal style.
When you register for a class, you’ll be offered three price tiers. The middle tier comes closest to what our registration fees used to be, and covers about 50% of the full cost of your participation in the class – with the other 50% covered by community donations. The first tier creates accessibility for people with limited income, while the third tier covers the full cost of participation – so that we can use community donations to support other people’s registration costs. When you choose to register at the third tier, you directly help support the Center’s efforts to remove financial barriers for others.
The Sonoma Community Center (the Center) strives to create an inclusive, safe community where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. The Center is committed to creating such an environment because it brings out the fullest potential in each of us, which, in turn, contributes directly to creating a community of belonging. In order to ensure a positive, safe, and welcoming experience for everyone, all program participants are asked to abide by the following policies, community agreements, and restorative safety protocol.
Financial aid is handled on an individual basis. If you think you qualify, follow the link below to apply.
