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 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 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 open to adults and high school students, please contact the office with any questions at northriverarts@gmail.com.

Materials List:

• Sewing machine (North River will have a few machines for students to share if you do not have your own machine.)

• Fabric scissors

• Pins

• Seam ripper

• Soft measuring tape

• Pencils/sketchbook

• After students learn the basics, they will be asked to purchase a simple pattern and fabric for a project

Olivia Harvey is an avid sewist and upcycler who first learned how to sew as a kid right here at NRAS with Brooke Stanton — and she hasn’t stopped since! Along with making and embellishing her own clothes, Olivia also sells her upcycled creations through her online shop OHpleeze. She believes that everyone should learn how to sew because it makes life (and your closet) a lot more interesting!

These four classes are a time to refresh your skills and boost your personal style.We will focus on a deeper look at design, the importance of values, color mixing and placement to create harmonious, unified, vibrant paintings. Come with an open mind  and a sense of humor

About the Instructor: Page Railsback 

Page Railsback has painted and taught in our South Shore community for many years.She received a Masters In Education and her natural talent as a teacher is a reflection of her ongoing workshops and classes here and in Puerto Vallarta Mexico.She was privileged to receive a Residency at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown in 2013 through the Copley Society.She is a Gallery artist at the Copley Societ,CO/SO and the South Shore Art Center  She also shows her work at Solace Gallery in Long Beach Island  New Jersey. She has a Studio at the Sandpaper Factory in Rockland and teaches private classes there . PageRailsback.com

Materials List:

• A sketch book
• a larger pad of quality paper or a canvas pad
• some small canvas boards or canvases
• a large canvas for each class 20x20 or your choice
• 2 brushes 1/2 inch, 1 inch and any others you might want
• Paints  7 tubes
• cad red light and alizarin crimson…. or magenta
• light yellow and medium yellow …….or yellow ochre
• ultramarine blue and thalo blue…….. or cerulean blue
• titanium white
• any other colors are optional
• a container for water or turps if you use oil
• paper towels,
• an apron or old shirt

Painting outdoors is exhilarating and challenging.  Whether your goal is to be an excellent plein air painter, or you are mainly a studio painter, your practice will be enhanced by painting outdoors, from life. The Fall is a perfect time to paint outside, the weather being cooler, and the colors changing.  We’ll paint all sorts of places on the South Shore, town and country, beach and meadow! Join us for stretching your creative muscles in an outdoor setting! 

Choose your medium. Open to all levels, but some familiarity with your medium is a good idea. 

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: 

Materials List for Safari.pages

Great photos don't need fancy gear - you already have a perfect tool in your back pocket. 

Whether you are a serious or a not so serious photographer, or a painter or printmaker, we will show you how to creatively capture your world through the quick and always-with-you iPhone. 

You’ll learn about hidden tools and how to use them. You’ll come away with a fresh perspective on the creative process. We’ll use INTENTION as the foundation for making good photos – for bringing a picture up to its best self.

Each week in a supportive setting, we will share our work and discuss the intentional, creative choices we make. People who take our course love it and finish with a feeling of accomplishment.

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.

Loosen up your mark making and gain confidence in your painting and drawing through creative play on paper. These will NOT be your grandma’s sketchbooks! We will be capturing familiar landscape using inks, pencils, graphite, charcoal, collage and paint. We may use a combination of paintbrushes, or sticks, or dried perennials as mark making tools. The exercises have us working fast and loose and carefree. I’ll show you the rules; the number one rule being we break rule one! Though there are a few must have items on the materials list, bring what you have in your kit but are afraid to try… we will use everything. I will demonstrate and show step by step exercises. Then you will be set free with guidance! The sketchbooks will serve you as resource material for more developed pieces or, you can work on single sheets and admire them as finished beauties!

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:

• Willow charcoal
• 6B graphite- lyra good brand
• Soft pencil of your choice
• Sketchbook or heavy paper that will take ink and/or watercolor. Smooth is best.
• Gum eraser
• Stupidly larger, cheap, craft or house painter’s brush, 2-4 inches
• Brush for fine detail
• 1 inch flat brush
• one bottle paine’s gray acrylic ink
• Glue stick
• Water container, paper towels, old plastic lid you can use to put ink into
• optional: Any watercolors or gouache or acrylic you fancy, watercolor crayons

I’ll supply the spray fix

After week one you will understand the process and find materials that interest YOU!

Collage, or “Painting with Paper,” is becoming one of the most exciting mediums in the art world today. This class will allow you to explore and experiment with this fun and unique medium. Collage offers the opportunity to paint without fear. It transforms looking and composing into a playful game, where shapes of color can be easily cut and moved.

The element of SHAPE plays an important role in painting. Limiting the number of shapes in a composition can be challenging. The act of collaging helps you perceive shapes differently and encourages you to limit and simplify your design.

Each class will focus on a distinct approach and method for creating unique and unusual designs.

Most materials will be supplied, but students are encouraged to collect and share papers they may have.

About the Instructor: Nancy Colella 

Nancy earned a BA in Fine Art from Muskingum University, then studied painting at the Aegean School of Fine Arts in Paros, Greece and at the Instituto Allende in San Miquel Mexico. After a career in the hospitality business and while raising two children, she resumed her studies at Mass College of Art. She teaches numerous on-line and live workshops throughout New England. She lives in Norwell with her husband and yellow lab Limoncello. 

Learn the fundamentals of digital illustration using Procreate in this four-week course designed for beginners. We’ll cover everything from setting up your canvas and using layers, to inking, coloring, and creating finished artwork. Each session includes guided demos, hands-on studio time, and optional at-home exercises to support your growth. Whether you're completely new to digital tools or looking to build a creative habit, this class will give you the skills and confidence to start illustrating on your iPad.

About the Artist: Jaimee Reale is an illustrator and designer behind Jaimee Makes, known for creating vibrant, hand-drawn artwork for musicians, product lines, and independent brands. She holds a BFA in Design from Boston University and spent several years as an elementary art teacher, which informs her clear, approachable teaching style. With a background in both traditional and digital media, Jaimee is passionate about helping others build creative confidence through accessible tools like Procreate.

Materials:

iPad with Procreate Drawing App installed (https://procreate.com)

Apple Pencil

Come study with Ann Musto on Tuesdays in October and November 2025 - using a very limited palette we will work quickly to draw in paint and complete 6 all prima (all at once) paintings in the studio.

This class will stretch your comfort zone by using a three color limited palette, execute a quick beginning from life ( still life, floral, projected landscape) and explore all the possibilities you can get from the palette when executing your painting.

I will introduce three different limited palettes depending on the mood and temperature of the subject. You will become familiarized with these different palettes and be able to take that info home into your own studio!

About the Instructor: Ann Musto

Ann has been a plein air and studio oil painter for over twenty years. Her interest lies in working to capture the beauty of what we see in light and color.  Ann’s work includes portraits, landscapes and still life. Ann completed her studies at the Academy of Realist Art in Boston, a traditional atelier. She has been a long time member of North River Arts Society and has served on the NRAS Board of Directors and on the NRAS Arts Committee.

annmustofineart.com

NRAS supplies tables and easels.

Materials List Coming Soon

The Layered Large Landscape: using indirect painting to mimic Renaissance painters approach to the very large studio oil painting.

Join me over 6 weeks as we start with composition using our color study, plain air painting, or photo to create a large -minimum  one side greater than 30 inches - studio layered oil painting. 

Appropriate for oil painters wanting to jump into learning to use  comparative measurement to change a smaller painting or study to a large composition.

We will create using a grisaille start after drawing, a first layer of “dead color” followed by 3 - 6 layers including scumbling and glazes as finish techniques to achieve a luminescent painting with depth and detail!

About the Instructor: Ann Musto

Ann has been a plein air and studio oil painter for over twenty years. Her interest lies in working to capture the beauty of what we see in light and color.  Ann’s work includes portraits, landscapes and still life. Ann completed her studies at the Academy of Realist Art in Boston, a traditional atelier. She has been a long time member of North River Arts Society and has served on the NRAS Board of Directors and on the NRAS Arts Committee.

annmustofineart.com

Ann will provide landscape photos and NRAS supplies tables and easels.

Materials List Coming Soon

SHAKE IT UP! This 6 week course will shake you from your comfort zone and expose you to different ways to approach your art.  It will be helpful if you are feeling stuck, or if you are bored or stalled, or if you simply want to try some new things to stretch yourself creatively.  For example we’ll spend one week working BIG. One week doing monochromatic paintings.  Once week doing very small works, but multiples of them.  I will be working in acrylic, but if you would prefer to work in oils, that will be fine, too.  Be open to new or different approaches and be fearless! 

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 

Really, any medium you are familiar with! IF you are a watercolorist, 

I always recommend a warm and a cool of red, yellow and blue, plus titanium white and a dark neutral such as (what I always have on hand) BURNT Umber (raw umber will not give you the same results) or Payne’s gray.

Examples of warm/cool:

• Cadmium Red LIGHT and Alizarin Crimson or a Quinacridone Magenta or a Rose
• Cad Yellow Medium and Cad Yellow Lemon (or cad yellow light)
• Ultramarine Blue and Pthalo Blue

• Artist’s tape
• Apron or big shirt
• Container for water or turps, for oil paints
• Disposable Palette
• Canvas Boards, assorted sizes, and/or painting paper such as Canson Painting Paper pads in any size. OR - any heavy paper like Bristol Board or Canvas Paper. We will work in different sizes, and at least ONE week, we will use a LARGE format - up to 20x20 or 20x24, so paper or canvas in that size.
• Assorted sized of brushes - I use mostly Flat brushes, from 1/4 inch to 2 inches - you can get the larger ones at hardware stores

• Paper Towels

The goal of this workshop is to explore what drawing means to you and move outside of your comfort zone to push your drawing practice further as a tool of inquiry, a joyful activity, and a method of attending to the world around you.  Whether it's exploring new compositional ideas, sketching as a way to just loosen up, or delineating a detailed rendition of a favorite object, drawing with a variety of media and purposes is a great way to underpin your personal art practice.

Using both dry and wet media we’ll explore mark-making, composition dynamics, and experiment with surface as we create and explore. This workshop will be lead through discussion, demonstration, and practice.

About the Artist: 

John Rufo is an artist and architect with over 35 years of practice experience. John attended the Rhode Island School of Design and has degrees in architecture and fine art. John’s artwork ranges in subject from landscape to still life to figural and abstract works. John teaches workshops focused on exploring drawing, painting and mixed-media approaches to making art. John’s wife is also an artist and art teacher. They both have studio space in their home in Needham, Massachusetts.

Materials List: Coming Soon

Additional Information:

Workshop Syllabus

John Ruffo Artist Statement

This 4-week class will dive into the world of block printing, covering a crash-course on all things blocks for artists of all sorts who want to bring their creativity to life in the printed world. This class will cover techniques for drawing, carving, and printing block prints on a variety of mediums. Rachel will help you bring to life a block and a variety of prints in different mediums of your own imagination.

About the Instructor: Rachel Nerger (Ray Prints)

I started block printing in 2020 when I was looking to reconnect with my creativity outside of the everyday hustle and bustle and a full-time job in finance. I have always been an artist at heart, and have continued to explore new mediums even as I jumped into the professional world.

Over the past few years, all the hours of drawing, carving, and printing blocks has led me to “launch” Ray Prints where I’ve been able to share my love of block prints with the south shore at different pop ups and markets. I have fallen in love with block printing for the way that it fits into life - it is accessible, affordable and has provided me with hours of escape as I work through each step in creating totally unique pieces of art with each stamp and Speedball carve.

Materials List:

(1 per student) 8"x10" block, black ink, rollers and paper provided by NRAS. Students should bring a set of carving tools, Rachel recommends this one for beginners. Rachel also suggests bringing watercolor supplies, different ink colors if you want and any old clothing, canvas bags, etc. that you may want to play around printing on!