All Officers, Board Members, Advisory Council, and Committee Chairs are volunteers. IAPS has an on-staff Executive Director. The Officers form the Executive Committee. The Board of Directors meets regularly during the Biennial Convention and via an online meeting platform as needed. At these meetings, they vote on specific matters as outlined in the IAPS Bylaws and are available to advise the President, Executive Director, and Executive Committee. The Board and Advisory Council are consulted throughout the year as necessary.
IAPS Founder - President Emeritus
Pollock Pines, CA – Urania founded IAPS in 1994, with the help of her husband Bob, and served as its President until 2009. Her legacy is stamped in art history through her efforts to unite pastel artists worldwide and encourage the renaissance of the luminous medium of pastel in the modern world. “Early in my artistic life, I saw the need to network pastelists from all parts of the nation and yes, the world. This union was needed to establish a mighty voice to educate galleries, buyers, art magazines and the general public in the qualities of dry pastels.” Listed in Who’s Who in Art, Urania’s work has appeared in American Artist, Artist’s Magazine, Art Revue (cover ’95), The Pastel Journal, and International Artist, plus ten how-to art books. Urania Christy Tarbet’s love of art came early in life, influenced by her famous cousin, Howard Chandler Christy, whose work hangs in the White House, National Capitol and Smithsonian. Exhibitions of her work have reached from France, Taiwan, and New York to San Francisco, with collectors worldwide. (b. 1931- d.2019)
www.uraniachristytarbet.com
President
Oregon – Richard McKinley, PSA-HF, PSWC-PL, is represented in several national galleries and has over 40 years of teaching experience. He is a 2010 Hall of Fame inductee of the Pastel Society of America, a Distinguished Pastelist and 2012 Pastel Laureate of the Pastel Society of the West Coast, an honorary member of the Degas Pastel Society, and holds many other artist/signature memberships. He has been featured in numerous national and international art publications and since 2003 has been a frequent contributing editor to Pastel Journal. In 2010 a book compiling years of his published materials titled: Pastel Pointers, Top Secrets for Beautiful Pastel Paintings, was released by North Light publications.
www.mckinleystudio.com
Vice President
Arkansas – A native of Texas, Shirley lives and works in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. She began her art journey after a successful career in the corporate world. Shirley is one of the Charter Members and co-founder of the Arkansas Pastel Society. Shirley was elected to the Board of the International Association of Pastel Societies in 2017 and currently serves as the Vice President of the Executive Committee as well as Financial Officer, and Exhibition Chair. She has achieved IAPS Master Circle and is a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of the West Coast, the Arkansas Pastel Society, and the Pastel Society of the Southwest. Shirley teaches private lessons and workshops in the Central Arkansas area. The Art Group Gallery in Little Rock, Arkansas represents her.
www.shirleyandersonart.com
Second Vice President
Florida – Carol Harden Hall is a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America (PSA), a Master’s Circle Member of the International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS), a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of Tampa Bay, and an Associate Member of Oil Painters of America (OPA). A native Floridian, she earned a BA in Fine Art from the University of Florida in 1974 with emphasis on ceramics. While raising her family she taught art K-!2 and worked as a faux finisher. She and her husband, Laurence, live in the Tampa Bay area and Boca Grande, Florida.
Secretary
Oregon – Judy Richardson, PSA, IAPS/MC, PAO/MP, is a lifelong resident of Oregon. Upon retirement from her career as an Early Childhood Educator, she began her art journey. She has studied with several artists and has continued with Richard McKinley as her mentor. Her work has been included in national and international exhibitions. Her work received an award in the PSA Enduring Brilliance, 50th Annual Exhibition. She is founding member of Pastel Artists of Oregon and former owner of Art & Soul Ashland, a gallery in Ashland, OR.
www.jrichardsonfineart.com
Richard McKinley, Shirley Anderson, Carol Hall & Judy Richardson are profiled above under Board Of Directors Executive Committee.
Director
Texas – Kahne Smith is a plein air and studio artist, working in pastel and oil. Music, writing, and philanthropy are her other passions. Kahne’s formal art education was undertaken at the MFA Glassell School of art in Houston, TX. She has studied with many master painters, including Richard McKinley PSA_MP & HFH, PSWC-PL, Albert Handell PSA-MP & HFH, Elizabeth Mowry PSA-MP, HFH AND PSWC-PL. and Charlie Hunter, American Tonalist Master. Kahne’s paintings are held in corporate and individual collections throughout the world. She is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America, NRA member of the Salmagundi Club and Degas Pastel Society, and associate member of numerous pastel societies. Kahne’s book, “Perception” is a collection of her artwork, with a 2nd book scheduled for completion in 2024. She is currently working on many projects, including “This Land is Your Land”, an exhibition and celebration of the American Landscape.
Director
New York – Rae Smith is a PSA Hall of Fame Artist and PSA Master Pastelist. A former president of the Pastel Society of America, Rae currently serves on the PSA Advisory Board, and the Board of Allied Artists. She is a Fellow of AAPL, and a signature member of Noyes Museum, CPS, CLWAC, Audubon Artists, and Hudson Valley AA. Her pastel and oil paintings have been exhibited throughout the United States as well as Japan, China, France, Italy, Russia, Taiwan and Canada, and have won numerous awards. Rae’s work has been included in books and magazines such as: Best of Pastels 2, Pastel Application Techniques for Beginners, Il Pastello Contemporaneo in Europa, The Pastel Journal, Pastel Artist International, American Artist Magazines. She is listed in Who’s Who in American Art, and The Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors and Engravers. She teaches at the Katonah Art Center and The Brigantine Community Center and is represented by Accent Gallery, Ocean City, NJ.
Director
New York – Jimmy Wright, PSA-MP, Hall of Fame Honoree, is the President of the Pastel Society of America. He is a National Academician and received an Honorary Doctor of Arts from Southern Illinois University in 2024. Wright’s work is in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, National Academy of Design Museum, Art Institute of Chicago, Carnegie Museum of Art, Hammer Museum, Speed Art Museum, Springfield Museum of Art, Arkansas Center for the Arts, Allen Memorial Art Museum, Butler Institute for American Art, and numerous public and private international collections. Fierman Gallery, New York, and Corbett vs Dempsey, Chicago, represent the artist.
www.jimmywrightartist.com
Richard McKinley, Shirley Anderson, Carol Hall & Judy Richardson are profiled above under Board Of Directors Executive Committee.
Richard McKinley, Shirley Anderson, Carol Hall & Judy Richardson are profiled above under Board Of Directors Executive Committee.
Kahne Smith, Rae Smith and Jimmy Wright are profiled above under Board Of Directors.
Treasurer
Massachusetts –Treasurer Laura Lincoln of South Yarmouth, is the owner of Sound Bookkeeping Services serving small businesses in the Mid Cape, MA area. She is a Certified Bookkeeper through the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (AIPB) and an Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor through Intuit. Past board positions include co-secretary and Treasurer of her condominium association, and the treasurer of several local networking organizations. Laura has been the IAPS bookkeeper since 2015 and is the bookkeeper for Pastel Painters Society of Cape Cod.
President Emerita
Massachusetts – Liz Haywood-Sullivan, IAPS/EP, PSA-MP, AIS, has been dedicated to working exclusively in the pastel medium since 1996. Her attraction to the medium is pastel’s unique ability to capture light and atmosphere in the landscape. She is a sought-after instructor and judge for pastel societies and arts organizations around the world. Liz authored the popular book Painting Brilliant Skies and Water in Pastel (Northlight, 2013). Her award-winning pastel paintings have been featured in numerous books and magazine articles, and have appeared in national, international, and museum, exhibitions worldwide. Liz is a President Emerita of the International Association of Pastel Societies (2013-2017) and served as president of the North River Arts Society in Massachusetts (2021-2025). Her work is represented by Vose Galleries of Boston.
www.lizhaywoodsullivan.com
Advisor
Denver, Colorado – Doug Dawson has received awards from: The Pastel Society of America, American Watercolor Society, Knickerbocker Artists, The National Academy of Western Art, Southeastern Pastel Society, Pastel Society of West Coast, Pastel Society of New Mexico, Audubon Artists, Kansas Pastel Society, Pastel Society of the Southwest, and the International Association of Pastel Societies. To honor his achievements he was given the title of Master Pastelist by the Pastel Society of America (NY) in 1985, and in 2008 he was the PSA Hall of Fame Honoree. He received the title of Master Circle by the International Association of Pastel Societies in 2005. He is one of the Founders of the Art Students League of Denver, CO.
www.dougdawsonartist.com
Advisor
New Orleans, Louisiana – Alan Flattmann is a PSA Hall of Fame Honoree and member of the IAPS Masters Circle. Four books have been published about his work, the latest: An Artist’s Vision of New Orleans: The Paintings of Alan Flattmann. His paintings are in the collections of major art museums and corporations.
www.alanflattmann.com
Advisor
Wilton, Connecticut – Claudia Seymour is a widely collected artist in oil and pastel. From 2007 through 2013 she was president of the historic Salmagundi Club in New York City, a period of great growth and renewal for the organization. Claudia is a Master Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America and has been awarded Mater Circle status by the International Association of Pastel Societies. She is also an Associate Member of the Oil Painters of America. Her classic still lifes in oil and pastel have been shown in nearly 200 juried national and international exhibitions, and she has won numerous prizes, including first-place and best-in-show awards. She works only from life, creating scenes that portray a timeless elegance and serenity through her concentration on radiant light and her choice and arrangement of antiques and ceramics, natural objects, fabrics, flowers and plants, and other materials. Claudia is a juried member of the Allied Artists of America, American Artists Professional League, American Women Artists, Audubon Artists, and Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club. She is represented by Handwright Gallery in New Canaan, Connecticut, J.M. Stringer Gallery in Vero Beach, Florida, Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT and Gladwell and Patterson, London, England.
www.claudiaseymour.com
Advisor
San Jose, California – Pat Suggs, PSA, MC-IAPS noted pastel artist, is a resident of San Jose and a third generation Californian. She served over 20 years as the IAPS Treasurer. Pat received her formal art training at the Leighton Fine Art Academy in San Francisco. Suggs has concentrated on the art of pastel over thirty years and has traveled the world. A full-time painter, she is known for her florals and landscapes. Suggs is a signature member of the PSA & PSWC, and she was inducted into IAPS Master Circle in 2005. She is listed in Who’s Who in American Art and her work is shown at Los Gatos Museums Gallery, Los Gatos, CA.
Advisor
San Francisco, California – Duane Wakeham, Pastel Society of America Master Pastelist and Pastel Society of the West Coast Distinguished Pastelist, was elected to PSA Hall of Fame (2000) and named PSWC Pastel Laureate (2009). He serves on PSA Board of Governors, IAPS Advisory Council, and Editorial Advisory Board of The Pastel Journal. He earned degrees in painting from Michigan State University and Stanford University, taught drawing and painting at Stanford, and art history and oil painting at College of San Mateo. Publications include American Artist, The Pastel Journal, Pure Color, Best of Pastel, and Margot Schulzke’s A Painter’s Guide to Design and Composition. He was revision author of three editions of Mendelowitz’s A Guide to Drawing.
Executive Director
Kingston, Massachusetts -Susan (Red) Weber has been involved in the arts since her days as an organizer of the Folk Festival at the University of Chicago, where she received her B.A. in Philosophy. After various career paths, including a cognitive hypnotherapy practice, she has been working as the Executive Director of IAPS since 2015.
www.soie-meme.net
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The cornerstone of IAPS is our commitment to fostering connections and facilitating the exchange of ideas. We believe that by coming together, we can elevate the art of pastel and support each other in our artistic journeys.
Uniting Pastel Societies around the world in support of the fine art of pastel.