Learn more than how to paint.
Learn how to trust yourself as an artist.
Explore soft pastel with clear, thoughtful teaching that helps you understand not only what to do, but why, so you can build the confidence to make your own creative decisions.
Curious about PanPastel?
Start here.
If you're new to PanPastel or curious to see what it's like to learn with me, this free introductory class is an easy place to begin.
I'll walk you through the materials, color mixing, transferring your drawing, and creating the Enchanted Mushroom painting from beginning to end.
I’m so glad you are here.
I'm Dawn Vander Stoep. I paint and I teach soft pastels, and after eight years with this medium I am still as in love with it as the day I picked it up.
I came to PanPastel after decades in other creative work. And when I finally tried it something happened that had never happened with anything else. I never wanted to stop.
Teaching found me through a friend who saw something in me before I saw it in myself. She encouraged me to share what I knew and it turned out to be the best decision I ever made. This is my calling. I genuinely love being able to break this medium down in a way that feels approachable, and what makes my teaching different is that I don't just show you what I am doing. I explain the why behind every decision. And again and again I hear from people that it clicks for them in a way it never has before.
In 2025 I was invited to spend two weeks at the Golden Foundation for a special PanPastel residency. I got to go behind the scenes, tour the facility where PanPastel is made, meet the teams, and be welcomed into an experience most artists never get access to. It felt like being invited into a family. I am still processing how much it meant.
This medium is magic. I love sharing it with you.
