Ten years ago, I saw the great David Jon Kassan painting one of his stunning portraits with PanPastels, and I have been hooked ever since. I love the soft quality of PanPastels, their ease of application, the fact that they are fully erasable, and have low dust. I will explain the differences and similarities with traditional pastels. Since my primary focus is painting animals, I will paint a study of a cat or a horse, …if possible, both. I will explain how to achieve drawing accuracy to get a likeness, with emphasis on correct value shapes, leaving those pesky (but fun!) details to the end. I hope you can join me!

Biography

Sonsoles grew up within a family of artists in Madrid, Spain.  From an early age she demonstrated a passion for art and she drew well, always inspired by her father, a renown sculptor.  She has been drawing and painting since childhood. She is an artist fascinated with portraiture of people and animals, and the depiction of light and dramatic contrasts, which is a common theme in most of her work.

She has been an art instructor for 16+ years, and teaches private classes and workshops at the Cactus Wren Art Gallery in Tubac, AZ, the Tubac School of Fine Art, and the Community Performance and Arts Center (Green Valley, AZ), where she also shows her work. In addition her paintings have been shown at Ben’s Fine Art Gallery, the Mountain Artist Guild Gallery, the Southern Arizona Artists Guild, the Phippen Art Museum in Prescott, AZ, -and participated in their juried annual Western art shows-, and the Tubac Center of the Arts.

Her art education includes classes at the University of Maryland, the Montpelier Arts Center (MD), and the Scottsdale Artists School (AZ).  She studied with renowned instructors like Amery Bohling, Phil Beck, James Coulter, Robert Goldman, Ray Roberts, Peggi Kroll-Roberts, David Harlan, Cody DeLong, Barbara Mulleneaux and Chris Saper.

2025-2026 CLASSES & WORKSHOPS:

Nov 4th & 5th, 20205
“All About Color!”
CPAC (Community Performing Arts Center) in Green, Valley, AZ
www.performingartscenter.org/programs/adult-education/adult-weekly-classes/

Nov 11th, 18th, Dec 2nd, 9th & 16th, 2025 (Tuesdays)
“Painting From Life with Pastels and PanPastels”
CPAC (Community Performing Arts Center) in Green Valley, AZ
www.performingartscenter.org/programs/adult-education/adult-weekly-classes/

Feb 17th, March 3rd, 17th, 31st, & April 14th, 2026
“FUNDAMENTALS OF DRAWING” (drawing bootcamp! 🙂
Tubac School of Fine Art, Tubac, AZ
https://tubacarts.org/product/sonsoles-shack-the-fundamentals-of-drawing-a-5-part-series-february-17-march-3-17-31-and-april-14-2026/

April 25th, 2026
“Improve Your Drawing Skills!” / “Mejore Su Tecnica de Dibujo!” (in Spanish!)
Tubac School of Fine Art, Tubac, AZ
https://tubacarts.org/product/sonsoles-shack-improve-your-drawing-skills-mejore-su-tecnica-de-dibujo-april-25-2026/