Jane Aukshunas stands next to one of her paintings.

ASTORIA — The Astoria Art Loft will hold a two-day oil pastels workshop taught by Portland artist Jane Aukshunas. The workshop will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. June 6 and 7 at the Astoria Art Loft, located at 106 Third St.

Cost is $235 for both days, which includes a $10 materials fee.

Aukshunas holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts from the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston with additional studies of Japanese art at Harvard University and fashion design at the Parsons School of Design.

She has also studied traditional Balinese painting in Indonesia and has developed her current successful oil pastel techniques through experimentation in her studio.

Aukshunassays her colorful, graphic landscapes hearken back to the 1930s Midwestern Regionalist style of such artists as Thomas Hart Benton and Grant Wood and have even been likened to “Grant Wood on acid.”

“In my use of color, I identify with the early 1900s European artists who were dubbed the Fauves (wild beasts) and whose leading member was Henri Matisse,” she says. “Lately I have been inspired by artists Gustav Klimt, Georgia O’Keeffe, Emily Carr, Paul Gauguin, Henri Rousseau, Wanda Ga’g and Japanese wood-block prints.”

See samples of her work at http://www.artfulhome.com/artist/Jane-Aukshunas/8273

To register, visit astoriaartloft.com or call 503-325-4442.