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May 15, 2026
Join Joan with some friends for a fun evening of painting! Bring your adult beverages and some snacks. This is a beginner's class that will provide step by step instructions using acrylic paints. Students will work with the instructor to complete one painting during the workshop. The instructor will teach techniques using paint brush strokes, line, form and blending applications. Relax and have fun making folk art inspired by Mary Maquire. All supplies are included in the cost of tuition. (Students may bring their own brushes if they prefer.)
Location: Ocean City, Maryland
Instructor: Joan Guerriero
Cost: $36 ($30 for members)
Sponsor: Art League of Ocean City
Website, email, (410) 524-9433

Fridays, May 15 - June 26, 2026
This painting-essentials course presents an in-depth and practical examination of the role of color in oil and acrylic painting. Instruction will explore mixing strategies and the effects of color choices and relationships upon depth, atmosphere, and luminosity. A variety of painting methods will be addressed, with a focus on how to exploit glazing, scumbling, and velatura layering techniques to achieve richer and more lively color. The still-life subject matter is appropriate for painters of all experience levels, although those with prior experience will benefit most from the color-emphasis in content.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Frederic Kaplan
Cost: $450
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

May 16 & 17, 2026
Do you often wonder how to make your paintings stand out? This workshop will explore ways to make more compelling and powerful visual statements, focusing on the landscape for inspiration and subject matter. The workshop will consist of demos, painting exercises, group discussions, positive critiques and lots of hands-on individual attention. Oil and Acrylic painters are welcome to attend; however, demos will be done in pastel and then Mayfield will work individually with you in your medium. Make your paintings more expressive and visually interesting from start to finish, from choosing subject matter, editing reference photos, simplifying and improving design and composition, using dynamic value contrasts, pushing color schemes, and using color temperature to create mood and emotion.
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Susan Mayfield
Cost: $330
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

May 18, 2026 | 9am - 1pm
Nature Artist, Randall Scott leads you through an intriguing journey of the many facets of art. We will be exploring sketching, drawing, composing, and layout of an image of your choice, which you have gathered or experienced first-hand. Growing in subject knowledge, as well as enhancing individual artistic skills in drawing and painting through your specific reference materials.
Location: Jupiter, Florida
Instructor: Randall Scott
Cost: $70
Sponsor: The New Studio For The Visual Arts
Website, email, 561-295-5712

Wednesdays, May 20 - July 29, 2026
Learn to explore new possibilities and paint more intuitively under the guidance of artist/critic/mentor Kassem Amoudi. Work from personal subject matter (objects, images, emotions, or ideas) to find your own visual language, informed by examples from contemporary and modern art. Examine how to use concepts of color, harmony, focal point, space, and mark-making as powerful tools of personal expression. Instruction is geared toward open painting time supported by critiques and advice from the instructor as he works one-on-one with students to guide them in their personal style and goals. This course is excellent for students pursuing abstract or nonobjective imagery, seeking knowledgeable feedback and a focused community painting environment. Painting experience recommended.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Kassem Amoudi
Cost: $450
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

May 25, 2026 | 9am - 1pm
Nature Artist, Randall Scott leads you through an intriguing journey of the many facets of art. We will be exploring sketching, drawing, composing, and layout of an image of your choice, which you have gathered or experienced first-hand. Growing in subject knowledge, as well as enhancing individual artistic skills in drawing and painting through your specific reference materials.
Location: Jupiter, Florida
Instructor: Randall Scott
Cost: $70
Sponsor: The New Studio For The Visual Arts
Website, email, 561-295-5712

Fridays, thru May 29, 2026
Paint on location at Philadelphia's historic Fairmount Park mansions! Built in the 18th century, these houses feature amazing architecture, beautiful gardens, and scenic views. Each week will feature a different instructor including: Lisa BergerLentz, Mark Bockrath, Roger Chavez, & Lou Schellenberg, demonstrating oil, watercolor/gouache and pastel techniques, reference art historical examples, cover the ins-and-outs of working outdoors and encourage personal expression. Includes a tour of each historic house (optional)! Work with the materials of your choice including watercolor, oil, acrylic and drawing media. Restrooms and free parking will be available.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Various
Cost: $250 or $60 per session
Sponsor: Cerulean Arts Gallery & Studio
Website, email, 267-514-8647

May 30, 2026
Working from a limited palette, this one-day workshop focuses on ways to create expressive florals on a larger canvas exploring energetic brushstrokes to create a harmonious and vibrant garden scene of flowers. Students will work from their own or provided imagery. Examples of colorful works by Josef Klimt and Joan Mitchell will be shared to inspire your process. A short demo will be shared on color mixing and simplification of form.
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Abby Ober
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

June 1-5, 2026
Exploring abstracts on a larger scale in the medium of your choosing, this 5-day class will push you into new territory where growth lives… only upsized, because bigger risks equal bigger rewards. You will be shown a system for developing your artistic voice, with a focus on design principles and the language of abstraction. The emphasis is on creative process, exploring new ways to develop and build paintings, create inventive compositions, and build authentic intent in your work. The class is as much a challenge for the experienced as it is for the developing artist, but it’s not for the rank beginner. Bring a sense of humor, a fearless creative spirit, and an open mind.
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Larry Moore
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Wednesdays, June 3-24, 2026
Geometry has been a source of interest, beauty and creative inspiration for the artist through the ages. Geometric forms, lines and shapes are all around us and can be seen in everything from architecture to plant life to seashells. Learn non-mathematical strategies inspired by geometry designed to enhance your ongoing body of work or be the starting point for a new one with focus on simplifying subject matter, building a unified composition and creating or enhancing a color palette. Work in the medium of your choice: acrylic, gouache or watercolor while working from your own reference photographs, drawings, books or digital imagery. Designed for both beginners and experienced art makers.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Michael Smith
Cost: $175
Sponsor: Cerulean Arts Gallery and Studio
Website, email, 267-514-8647

June 4-6, 2026
Join professional painters John Ball and Mark Baral for Color and Light in the Landscape, an Artist’s Connection Event at the Brush and Sketch Studio in Pensacola, FL. Through demonstrations, discussion, and critique, the artists will explore how light and color shape the landscape, how figures can strengthen a landscape composition, and how studio paintings are developed from plein air sketches and studies. Attendees are also encouraged to bring their own landscape sketches for thoughtful feedback and problem solving. This welcoming event is designed to help artists gain practical insight, fresh ideas, and meaningful connections with fellow painters.
Location: Pensacola, Florida
Instructor: John Ball & Mark Baral
Cost: $525
Sponsor: The Brush and Sketch Studio
Website, email, 850 741-8788 or 850 380-9087

June 4, 2026
Acrylic pouring is a method for creating beautiful abstract images. The painting process is achieved by layering various methods and using different techniques and tools. Pouring is a great way to create interesting texture, patterns, and marbleized effects. In this class you will create a painting of the ocean as it rolls onto the beach. We will use a variety of techniques in this class, such as blowing and swiping. All levels welcome. No prior experience necessary. Please wear clothing that can get stained (we will provide aprons). Might be best to tie back hair and leave jewelry at home. $20 supply fee to be paid directly to instructor the day of class.
Location: Ocean City, Maryland
Instructor: Cindy Strouse
Cost: $36 ($30 for members)
Sponsor: Art League of Ocean City
Website, email, (410) 524-9433

June 5 & 6, 2026
Instructor Nancy Mitchell will help students loosen up, paint larger, and achieve amazing texture using a wide range of techniques. This workshop for oil and acrylic painters of all levels encourages artists to simplify shapes, work boldly, and build richly tactile surfaces with confident, expressive strokes. Through demonstrations and guided practice, participants will explore multiple approaches to creating depth, contrast, and visual interest through texture—learning how to layer, scrape, scumble, dry brush, and manipulate paint to suggest everything from subtle surface variation to dramatic, dimensional effects. Nancy will share her approach to painting quickly and intuitively, helping artists balance control with spontaneity to keep their work fresh and energized!
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Nancy Mitchell
Cost: $120
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

June 9-10, 2026
Enjoy open-air painting in beautiful Valley Forge National Historic Park on the National Historic Register. The church site of George Washington’s Continental Army in 1777-1778 and now home to lush scenery and historic architecture! Located in Montgomery County, 35 minutes northwest of Center City Philadelphia, with ample parking and access to restrooms. Working from diverse landscape subject matter, students will learn essential plein air approaches, including color mixing to achieve a sense of light and air, capturing time of day, compositional fundamentals, and sound drawing and painting practices. Instruction is geared toward oil/acrylic painting and pastel drawing/painting.
Meeting at the Washington Memorial Chapel parking lot.
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Joseph Sweeney
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

June 13, 2026
Push your color and simplify forms in this one-day expressive workshop. Working from sunny landscape photography of your own, you will explore ways to use an arbitrary approach to color and create compositions in the style of fauvist painters Henri Matisse and Andre Derain. Plan to paint no larger than 11 x14. A demo and examples of their fauves will be shared to better understand this vibrant style of painting.
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Abby Ober
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

June 13 & 14, 2026
Don't miss this opportunity to work with renowned painter Bill Scott to explore the sensuous yet thoughtful abstract construction of space in this two-day, intensive studio workshop. Color will be the focus as participants paint from an expansive still life environment with special prompts from Scott. This workshop is designed for intermediate/advanced painters.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Bill Scott
Cost: $395
Sponsor: Cerulean Arts Gallery and Studio
Website, email, 267-514-8647

Fridays, June 19 - July 17, 2026
Learn the basics of painting outdoors as you work on location at beautiful and historic Laurel Hill Cemetery featuring terraced grounds, sculpture, and amazing views of the Schuylkill River. Instruction will address the ins-and-outs of working outdoors, color and composition, art historical examples, and personal expression. You may work in the media of your choice including oil, acrylic, watercolor & pastel. Free parking and restrooms available.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Michelle Oosterbaan
Cost: $175
Sponsor: Cerulean Arts Gallery and Studio
Website, email, 267-514-8647

July 6 - August 14, 2026
This six-week on-campus studio-rental program is designed for experienced visual artists who desire constructive feedback on their artwork, as well as the support and interaction of an artistic community. Stimulate your personal artistic growth in your own private PAFA studio through individual weekly critiques from a stellar ensemble of notable artists, including members of PAFA’s acclaimed faculty, as well as discussion, group critiques, and artist studio visits. Tuition covers a personal studio in PAFA's Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building, weekly critiques (one-on-one; one group critique), and additional group discussions and outings to museums and commercial galleries (scheduled per students' interests). This is an uninstructed program; as such, prior art-making experience and the ability to work independently are required.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Cost: $1,350
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

July 9, 2026
Bring your adult beverages and some snacks and get ready for a fun evening paint night! This is a beginner's class that will provide step by step instructions using colorful acrylic paints. Techniques will be taught using brush strokes, line, form and blending applications. All supplies, including paint, canvases and paint brushes are included in the cost of tuition. (Students may bring their own brushes, one round and one flat if they prefer.)
Location: Ocean City, Maryland
Instructor: Joan Guerriero
Cost: $36 ($30 for members)
Sponsor: Art League of Ocean City
Website, email, (410) 524-9433

July 11, 2026
Too much of the same green? Discover the importance of using a range of greens to make your landscapes more impactful. Begin with creating a variety of color swatches of your chosen landscape, pushing some warmer or cooler or lighter or darker. Work on balancing these with other colors in your piece to create a harmonious and balanced composition. Various examples of paintings will be shared a short demo as well in color mixing from a limited palette of color. You can choose to work on smaller landscape studies or a larger finished piece.
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Abby Ober
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

July 25, 2026
Before a painting deserves a large canvas, it must survive the study. In this intensive one-day workshop, professional artist Vlad Duchev guides serious painters through the disciplined process that separates hesitation from mastery: structured, intentional studies. In today’s art culture, artists are often encouraged to “just paint.” But strong paintings are not accidents. They are built. A study is not a warm-up. It is not a quick sketch. It is a focused investigation. When you isolate one problem at a time — value, composition, temperature, edge, brushwork — clarity replaces guesswork. Confidence replaces correction. Authority replaces uncertainty.
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Vlad Milan Duchev
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

September 2-6, 2026
Philip Frey and Schoodic Institute are pleased to offer a plein air painting retreat designed specifically for dedicated landscape painters. Held in the picturesque landscapes of Acadia National Park, this retreat will provide an opportunity for participants to hone their skills, gain deeper knowledge of materials, and develop confidence in their creative abilities. Students will learn to capture the essence of the landscape and comprehend the interplay of color and light.
Each day will start with an on-site painting session, followed by an early afternoon demonstration and critique. Participants will have ample time to engage in painting, explore the surrounding area, or relax at their leisure. Meals and a daily cocktail hour will be provided.
Location: Winter Harbor, Maine
Instructor: Philip Frey
Cost: Commuter $1,195; Residential $1,795
Sponsor: Schoodic Institute
Website, email, (207) 288-1310

September 18-20, 2026
In this workshop, students will work in the Alla Prima method to paint three still-life paintings, one each day. Alla prima translates to “in the first” and is a wet-into-wet painting technique. Students are encouraged to bring their own props to create meaningful paintings. Each morning, the instructor will do a demonstration, and in the afternoon, students will work on their paintings and receive individual critiques. An emphasis on mark making, painting loosely, expressive color, and making a picture will be discussed. All levels are welcome.
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Todd Casey
Cost: $550
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

November 6-8, 2026
In this 3-day workshop, Karen leads her students through the process of creating dynamic loose paintings that breathe life and reality. Using a photo reference, she will demonstrate the various stages of a painting from initial design to the final strokes. Along with foundational principles, Karen emphasizes the use of large brushes, intuitive measuring and the back-and-forth search of positive and negative shapes to achieve spontaneity and visual interest. This workshop was designed for all levels of oil & acrylic painters.
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Karen Wilharm
Cost: $500
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

September 30 & October 2, 2027
Discover the joy of painting expressive, atmospheric skies in this dynamic workshop designed for artists of all levels. Join award-winning artist and renowned instructor Eric Jacobsen for an inspiring experience tailored to both oil and acrylic painters. Key topics include composition, value, design, choosing a motif, identifying and mixing accurate warm and cool colors, establishing a focal point, and valuable tips and do’s and don’ts for the landscape painter. Special emphasis will be placed on mark making, helping you bring energy and expression to your brushwork. The workshop will feature a combination of informal lectures, instructor demonstrations, and plenty of hands-on painting time, ensuring a well-rounded and engaging learning experience.
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Eric Jacobsen
Cost: $550
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

See also:
Art Books for Acrylic Painting |
Tutorials for Acrylic Painting
