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Adult Workshops
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Looking for more space to spread out and work on a project? Or maybe you want to work amongst other artists to feel inspired and get some helpful feedback on your work. Join other local artists any time between 9am-12pm, for Open Studio. Please pay $10 cash at the door. Bring all supplies you need to use, NRAS has easels available.
No registration, drop in only, cash or check.
This uninstructed plein air series offers artists of all levels the opportunity to make art outdoors in various inspiring South Shore locations. Each session will be guided by a different experienced plein air artist, providing insight into the plein air process without formal instruction. Participants will work independently while benefiting from the guidance and camaraderie of fellow artists.
Each session begins with a 10-minute orientation led by the guiding artists, covering suggested compositions and tops for working in the environment. At the end of the session, participants will gather for an optional 15-minute discussion too are work and experiences.
In case of inclement weather, sessions may be rescheduled.
Registration is required. Limited spots available per session. No refunds or pro-rating for missed sessions. Leading artists will contact students prior to the session for parking info, etc.
Open to all skill levels, artist must bring all their own supplies.
This class is for anyone with or without acrylic gouache experience. If you took “Discovering Acrylic Gouache” with Suzette, this workshop is the ideal next step for continuing your exploration of this medium. But, if this is your first acrylic gouache adventure, fear not! The morning will begin with a module on the basics to get caught up. The class will have a slideshow to outline the process. Suzette will also demonstrate.
Students will be guided through exercises to gain competence in Suzette’s techniques and methods of creating floral still lifes and landscape using acrylic gouache on paper. Dramatic effects can be made as the pigment allows light to bounce off the surface, intensifying the saturation of the color. This quick drying paint allows you to layer without muddying up the hues.
The results are surprisingly engaging. Methods translate well to watercolor and acrylic painting. Join us to take risks, and explore the wow of this under appreciated medium. Novice and master painters welcome. Be prepared to have fun.
Suzette will bring a bouquet to share as inspiration and a resource but, recommends each painter to bring a small jar or glass with 3-5 flowers to keep at their station.Also: A landscape reference photo will be provided.
About the Instructor: Suzette Lebenzon
Suzette Lebenzon has painted since her childhood in Scituate, MA. She has kept a studio and shown in galleries most of her adult life. Her home and studio are in Wellfleet.
Suzette was a recipient of the Mass Cultural Council’s Unrestricted Artists’ Grants. In 2023, Suzette was inducted to the National Association of Women Artists, as a Signature Member. Her work has been curated into shows at the Art Complex Museum in Duxbury, the Scollay Square Gallery in Boston’s City Hall, and the Galatea Fine Art Gallery in SOWA.
She is represented by the AMZehnder Gallery in Wellfleet, MA; and the BBLG Gallery in Smithtown, NY.
Materials List:
After a summer break, it is always good to have a ‘refresh’ and bone up on the basics to prep for Fall Painting. In this one day class we will review the tenants of a good composition, and explore the various patterns that are most compelling. Then we will hone in on value exercises, because without a good value pattern a potentially good painting can be overlooked. Lastly we will explore color and color mixing, which will give your paintings the punch they need to stand out. Bring a lunch and an open mind, and get ready for a successful Autumn of painting! All levels welcome, and acrylics or oil media is preferred.
About the Instructor: Kelley MacDonald
After getting her Art History degree at Wheaton College, Kelley continued taking art classes at various Art Associations for 10 years before she started painting. First with watercolor, then oil and now happily with acrylic and mixed media, it has been a lifetime of growing and exploring all things art.
Kelley has won numerous awards, and has taught classes and workshops for many years. While for the majority of her career Kelley has been a literal, representational painter, in the past 4 years she has been diving into abstraction, particularly Intuitive Abstraction. The history involved on the canvas, the multiple layers, the reveal and conceal and push and pull are what attracts her to this method.
A favorite thing to do is to travel, and be inspired by different landscapes and cityscapes. Kelley has traveled to Holland to paint, along with many places on this side of the ocean, namely Nova Scotia, Sedona, Santa Fe, St. Simon’s Island, Seattle, San Miguel de Allende, MX, California and Maine.
In 2009 Kelley founded the Artists’ Challenge Group “Girls Just Wanna Paint” which is a collection of award winning artists who post a response to a new topic every month consecutively since July of 2009. Aside from the Providence Art Club Kelley is a member of the North River Arts Society in Marshfield, MA. She has taught at the Art Club, Bristol Art Museum, and at North River Arts Society.
Materials List -
Colors A warm and a cool of red, yellow and blue. Examples of warm & cool red: cad red light and alizarin crimson or quinacridone magenta or rose Examples of warm and cool blue: Pthalo Blue and Ultramarine Blue Examples of warm and cool yellow: Cad yellow medium and Cad Yellow Lemon Plus a white (titanium) and a dark neutral - like BURNT Umber or Paynes Gray Assorted brushes Container for water for acrylic paints, or small containers of Gambol for oil painters. Apron or old shirt Paper Towels Disposable Palette Sturdy paper like Canson Painting Paper or Bristol Paper or 140 Watercolor paper (if you are using oil, or IF you prefer with Acrylic, gesso about 6 (9x12) or larger sheets
Bring an open mind and enthusiasm - we’ll get ready for the Fall Painting!
Have you ever wanted to submit your work to a juried show but weren’t sure how to go about it? We’ve got a workshop for you.
In this workshop, we’ll show you how to -- Photograph your work so it presents its best self to a jury and meets the technical requirements for submitting. We’ll cover two-dimensional art (canvas or paper,) photography files, and three dimensional artwork (pottery, jewelry, small sculpture.) We’ll also cover the ways to mount and frame a two-dimensional work to properly present on an exhibition wall. This workshop is for experienced and new artists alike. Bring your smartphone or a camera and a tripod IF you have one. We’ll provide the lighting and backgrounds.
About the Instructor: Mike Dick
Mike Dick has been shooting and displaying photographs for over fifty years. He has a BA in photography and video from the University of Connecticut, Inner College and also trained in photography at the George Eastman House in Rochester, NY.
Mike is a Gallery Artist at the South Shore Art Center in Cohasset, Member of North River Arts Society in Marshfield, MA and Member of Plymouth (Mass.) Center for the Arts.
South Shore Art Center presented two solo shows of Mike’s work, the first in December 2019 and the second in April, May, and June 2024. He has displayed work in juried shows at SSAC, NRAS, and Plymouth Center for the Arts. Mike took Best in Show - Photography at the NRAS Festival in 2018 and First Place, Color Photography at the Fine Art of Photography Show, Plymouth Center for the Arts, 2024.
Mike lives in Cohasset, Mass. with his wife, Lisa; they have two sons and two grandsons. Lisa and Mike are active with community civic groups and local non-profits.
This comprehensive and enjoyable workshop will better familiarize participants with color palettes, the effective blending of colors, use of brushes, and responsiveness of the medium on different papers. A range of exercises will allow painters to explore and apply various wash methods – wet-on-wet, dry-brush, glazing, blending, sharp and soft edges, dilution control, among others. Each dynamic session will address some of the many aspects of color theory. Using still life subjects & from the instructor’s demos, participants will learn ways to structure & simplify a composition, while learning to see and achieve the dynamic elements of light, contrast, values, movement, textures, etc., which make paintings come alive. Experimentation and interpretative methods will also be demonstrated, discussed and encouraged during the workshop. The workshop will comprise two studio classes, for about 8 hours each day, with a 45-60 minute lunch.
The workshop will provide a relaxed place for participants to quickly understand and then develop their skills, with the watchful input of the instructor. Some previous painting experience would be preferable, but not required. Participant’s abilities should include basic drawing, and a comfort level with watercolor. With a likely diversity of skills, capabilities will vary widely, but one-on-one instruction will be tailored to each individual’s level. Expectations are for a creative, exciting environment from which the collective energies and interests will allow everyone to learn much more than otherwise struggling to discover alone. Also, expectations are for making “mistakes”, and for having fun while learning with an award-winning watercolorist.
About the Instructor: Frank is an accomplished watercolor painter of urban scenes, landscapes, homes, portraits and still life in a plein air, or a direct alla prima colorist style. He is continually inspired by the effortless, masterful works of watercolorists from many eras and cultures; particularly Sargent, Homer, Turner, Wyeth, Zorn, Reid, Prendergast, Hiroshi and fellow Winthrop native, John Whorf. Frank enjoys the fluid challenge and unexpected possibilities of watercolor. Given the inherent transparency of his preferred medium and infinite range of possible values and colors, he strives to express watercolor’s rich, luminous qualities in his pieces. He also enjoys working on figurative sketches in pencil, pen & ink, and other mediums. Frank is a signature member of the New England Watercolor Society (N.E.W.S.) Boston, and elected member of the Salmagundi Club of New York. He is also a multiple award-winning architectural illustrator for over five decades of collaborating with renowned national architects to produce striking illustrations of projects around the world. Frank recently had a highly regarded exhibition of his illustration works at the Boston Athenaeum, and radio & tv spots on Jared Bowen’s PBS Culture Programs.
"Light, shade, shadow, color, values, textures; the substantive and the fleeting, the design and contours of shape and form; the intersection and interplay of the tangible and intangible – these life qualities are always capturing my attention. The interpretative and unexpected possibilities of the watercolor medium present an exciting artistic challenge to capture these very qualities in every work. "
Materials List: Coming Soon
