Rita Kirkman, PSA, CPS, IAPS-EP Kirkman has been using pastel since she was 11 years old. Since 2003 she has consistently won major awards in national and international competitions. She is a Signature member of the Pastel Society of America and an Eminent Pastelist with the International Association of Pastel Societies. Her paintings have been featured in the Pastel Journal and the Pratique des Arts Spécial Pastel and published in many others. Her work is in public and private collections all over the world, including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, Japan, Africa and Australia. She is a popular workshop instructor and enjoys seeing students get excited about what pastel can do! In 2020 she created a Patreon page, full of demo videos from her Virtual Open Studio Days.