READY TO LOOSEN UP?
JOIN THE PASTEL PAINTING ADVENTURE
with ALAIN PICARD
AUGUST 31 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2026
Tired of paintings that come out stiff, muddy, and too close to the photo?
We've all reached for bolder color and looser marks. Then doubt shows up halfway through, and we blend them away.
What if three pastel exercises had you making freer, bolder marks in a week?
DURING LANDSCAPE WEEK YOU WILL:
Paint Without Overthinking
Build a range of marks from quiet to loud. No more timid strokes.
Design Before You Paint
See big shapes instead of small details. The cure for overworking.
Paint Expressive Color
Choose color for feeling, not accuracy. No fear of getting it wrong.
Join Alain Picard for a fun pastel adventure where you'll try three exercises to loosen up your landscapes...
all from home, with nobody looking over your shoulder.
Plus a pop-up Facebook Group where you can share what you make and get inspired by the artists painting alongside you.
LANDSCAPE WEEK SCHEDULE
Here's what to expect during Landscape Week from August 31 - September 4, 2026
All three live lessons take place at 3pm Eastern, 12pm Pacific, 8pm UK, and run about 60 minutes each.
Can't make one live? Every lesson is recorded, and replays stay on the Lessons Page through September 9, so you can go at the pace that's right for you.
JOIN US FOR LANDSCAPE WEEK IF...
- You've been looking for clear guidance on how to paint loose, expressive landscapes.
- You've been getting lost in the details, overworking your paintings, and you know it's time to break free.
- You want quick wins that build confidence, not another technique to file away for someday.
- You know what loose looks like and haven't been able to get there in your own paintings.
- You want a week to play, with no finished paintings required and nobody looking over your shoulder.
HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT LANDSCAPE WEEK?
Do I need to have experience painting Landscapes?
What supplies do I need?
I can't attend live, will Landscape Week be recorded?
At what time will the Live Lessons be in my time zone?
Are we using the same reference as last year?
Will I be able to share my exercises and receive feedback?
A PERSONAL INVITATION FROM ALAIN...
Ask a room of painters what they're after and the same words keep coming up. Looser. Bolder. More personal and expressive.
Yet most of us end up somewhere else. We reach for a bolder color or a looser mark, then a voice starts up halfway through: "It has to look more realistic or they won't like it." So we blend it away, tidy it up, and end up with something that doesn't feel like us. I know that voice. Twenty-nine years of painting and seventeen of teaching, and I still hear it.
What changed for me was realizing that looseness isn't a personality some artists were handed. It's a practice. And a practice is something you can do on a quiet afternoon with whatever pastels are in the drawer.
I've watched too many good painters go quiet. The show not entered, the painting not shared, the flame smoldering instead of burning, because they never quite felt ready.
That's all Landscape Week is, a time to play. Three exercises, an hour at a time, where nothing has to be finished and nothing has to be perfect. Just enough room to find out where your hand goes when the pressure's off.
I'd be honored to spend the week with you.
Alain
Come play with pastel for a week. I'll be right there with you.
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