Wennie Huang, PSA

Places, Faces, & Florals

Weekly Hybrid – PSA Studio, National Arts Club, New York City and on Zoom

Wednesdays at 1:30 – 4:30 pm  (ET)

This weekly PSA Studio class explores flowers, portraits, still life, landscape, and abstraction through the expressive and thoughtful use of color in pastel.

Drawing on over fifteen years of teaching experience in New York City, Wennie guides artists in developing more cohesive and intentional color palettes while maintaining a sense of freedom and responsiveness to the subject. Students are encouraged to trust their love of color while strengthening the visual relationships that bring clarity and unity to their work.

Through a balance of hands on exploration and thoughtful discussion, artists examine how color functions within mark making, contrast, edges, proportion, and scale. Historical and contemporary examples are woven into the conversation to deepen understanding and expand creative possibilities.

What You Will Learn

How to:

• Develop cohesive and expressive color palettes across a range of subjects
• Explore color relationships through mark making, contrast, and edge control
• Understand proportion and scale as they relate to color and composition
• Respond intuitively to subject matter while strengthening visual structure
• Examine historical and contemporary approaches to color in pastel
• Refine personal artistic language through guided exploration and critique

Instructor Bio

Wennie Huang is an accomplished pastel artist and educator based in New York City, with over fifteen years of experience teaching within the city’s dynamic contemporary art community. Her work spans a wide range of styles and genres, including portraiture, still life, landscape, and abstraction, unified by a sophisticated and expressive approach to color.

As a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America, Wennie is known for her thoughtful teaching style and her ability to help artists deepen their understanding of color relationships while maintaining a sense of play and discovery. Her instruction emphasizes both visual intelligence and personal expression, supporting artists as they develop clarity, confidence, and cohesion in their work.

Materials and Studio Setup

• Soft pastels in a broad range of values and colors
  • A selection of both soft and harder pastels recommended
  • Pastel paper or boards in preferred sizes and textures
  • Drawing tools such as charcoal or pastel pencils
  • Erasers, paper towels, and basic studio supplies
  • A still life setup or reference materials as appropriate to the weekly focus
  • A stable camera setup positioned to clearly show your artwork while you work, for Zoom participants
  • Adequate lighting, preferably daylight-balanced lighting