Immerse yourself in the vibrant world of pastel as you bring breathtaking landscapes, dynamic seascapes, and dramatic cloudscapes to life in this energizing 3-week course! Whether you’re a beginner eager to explore or an experienced artist ready to elevate your skills, instructor Robert Wortmann will inspire you through engaging demonstrations and hands-on, personalized guidance. Discover how to capture light, atmosphere, and movement while working from your own reference photos to create expressive, one-of-a-kind works of art. Experience a fun, supportive studio environment that sparks creativity, confidence, and a deeper connection to the beauty of nature.
 
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Robert Wortmann
Cost: $150
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

The workshop will run for two full days. Our interest is whether two distinct pictorial genres, the portrait and the nude figure, can challenge each other and make each more interesting. The expressive overlap in portraiture and figure painting has been a central concern in my work for over forty years. The class will be open to any painting medium, oil, acrylic, pastel, opaque watercolor, but the emphasis of each experience will be in pushing the participants’ efforts through changes and revision which may include the model’s change of state from nude to clothed or vice versa. My interest is in “likeness” which is as much involved with gesture, proportion, and spatial context as the disposition of features, complexion, and light.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Scott Noel
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Learn methods to propel you to the next level. My goal is to show you that with one approach you can paint any subject. Oil paints are preferred, but water-soluble oils, acrylic, or pastel are acceptable. It is helpful to have a basic working knowledge of your chosen medium. Intermediate to advanced.
 
Location: Jupiter, Florida
Instructor: Chris Kling
Cost: $350
Sponsor: The New Studio For The Visual Arts
Website, email, 561-295-5712

Members of the Art League of Ocean City are invited to utilize a shared space to collaborate on individual artworks. All mediums are welcome with the exception of pottery. Participants should be prepared with all materials. Registration is required.
 
Location: Ocean City, Maryland
Cost: Free to members
Sponsor: Art League of Ocean City
Website, email, (410) 524-9433

Learn everything you need to know about the medium of pastels. Apply basic and advanced techniques in rendering the still-life, portraits and cityscape views. Topics include the use of light and color, types of pastel available, use of different papers, fixing and transporting finished drawings, and safety issues.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Joseph Sweeney
Cost: $195
Sponsor: Cerulean Arts Gallery and Studio
Website, email, 267-514-8647

The ocean, bays, creeks and skies of the Eastern Shore offer terrific material for the artist. Working from the student's own photographs, Katie will guide the class through the necessary steps to create beautiful seascapes. There will be important instruction on how to paint inspiring skies and cloud formations. As with all her classes, Katie will provide lots of personal attention and critique.
 
Location: Ocean City, Maryland
Instructor: Katie Cassidy
Cost: $228 ($190 for members)
Sponsor: Art League of Ocean City
Website, email, (410) 524-9433

Discover the beauty of Tonalism in a dynamic 1-day workshop with instructor Robert Wortmann! Explore this evocative American art style, known for its atmospheric landscapes and poetic use of color. Dive into inspiring examples from masters like Whistler and Innes, enjoy a live demonstration, and create your own artwork with personalized guidance. All mediums are welcome, and the day wraps up with a supportive group critique. This course is open to all levels of students.
 
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Robert Wortmann
Cost: $100
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

Members of the Art League of Ocean City are invited to utilize a shared space to collaborate on individual artworks. All mediums are welcome with the exception of pottery. Participants should be prepared with all materials. Registration is required.
 
Location: Ocean City, Maryland
Cost: Free to members
Sponsor: Art League of Ocean City
Website, email, (410) 524-9433

Discover how to create vibrant, expressive landscape paintings using the principles of impressionism in either pastel or oil. In this three-day workshop, award-winning artist Greg Barnes will share the design concepts and colorful painting techniques that have become the hallmark of his work. Through daily demonstrations, discussions, and plenty of individual instruction, students will learn how to simplify the landscape into strong value patterns, compose compelling paintings, develop harmonious color relationships, and apply confident, expressive brushstrokes or pastel marks. Rather than copying nature literally, students will learn how to interpret the landscape with greater impact by emphasizing light, atmosphere, and mood. Whether working from reference photos or personal sketches, each participant will receive personalized guidance while completing several paintings.
 
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Greg Barnes
Cost: $600
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

Unleash your creativity in a welcoming, relaxed studio environment with Dennis Lake, a longtime favorite instructor known for his expertise in realism across a variety of mediums. Whether you prefer oil, watercolor, acrylic, pastel, charcoal, or colored pencil, you’ll have the freedom to explore your favorite materials, begin new projects, or bring unfinished works to life. Enjoy personalized, one-on-one guidance tailored to your interests and skill level, along with inspiring mini demonstrations, practical technique tips, and thoughtful critiques to help you refine your skills and grow as an artist. This class is appropriate for all levels. The main purpose of this course is one-on-one assistance from the instructor with whatever you need help with (fixing, composition, specific subjects, etc.).
 
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Dennis Lake
Cost: $150
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

Life Drawing, or Figure Drawing, is a foundational practice for artists to study the human figure through observation. During Art League Life Drawing sessions, a model poses for a variety of lengths, from quick 2-minute gesture poses to longer 20–30-minute poses. Short poses help loosen up and build confidence, while longer poses allow for more attention to anatomy, proportion, and detail. All skill levels are welcome! Bring your preferred medium—charcoal, graphite, pen and ink, pastels, acrylics, oils, or whatever you enjoy—and use the session as an opportunity to practice, experiment, and grow.
 
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Cost: $50 ($25 for members)
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

Life Drawing, or Figure Drawing, is a foundational practice for artists to study the human figure through observation. During Art League Life Drawing sessions, a model poses for a variety of lengths, from quick 2-minute gesture poses to longer 20–30-minute poses. Short poses help loosen up and build confidence, while longer poses allow for more attention to anatomy, proportion, and detail. All skill levels are welcome! Bring your preferred medium—charcoal, graphite, pen and ink, pastels, acrylics, oils, or whatever you enjoy—and use the session as an opportunity to practice, experiment, and grow.
 
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Cost: $50 ($25 for members)
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

Learn methods to propel you to the next level. My goal is to show you that with one approach you can paint any subject. Oil paints are preferred, but water-soluble oils, acrylic, or pastel are acceptable. It is helpful to have a basic working knowledge of your chosen medium. Intermediate to advanced.
 
Location: Jupiter, Florida
Instructor: Chris Kling
Cost: $350
Sponsor: The New Studio For The Visual Arts
Website, email, 561-295-5712

Artists can all benefit from ideas to help us create more expressive paintings. Karen is always striving to interpret her subject by including her own personal touch rather than a copying the reference and painting exactly what she sees. She will share her tips and techniques for the effective use of photos to inspire paintings. She will give you the tools you need to move away from copying the reference and to help you create stronger paintings. She considers herself a contemporary landscape painter. She is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America and a Masters Circle recipient of the International Association of Pastel Societies. For more information, visit karenmargulis.com.
 
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
Instructor: Karen Margulis
Cost: $485 Museum members/ $535 non-members
Sponsor: Huntsville Museum of Art
Website, email, 256-535-6372

Life Drawing, or Figure Drawing, is a foundational practice for artists to study the human figure through observation. During Art League Life Drawing sessions, a model poses for a variety of lengths, from quick 2-minute gesture poses to longer 20–30-minute poses. Short poses help loosen up and build confidence, while longer poses allow for more attention to anatomy, proportion, and detail. All skill levels are welcome! Bring your preferred medium—charcoal, graphite, pen and ink, pastels, acrylics, oils, or whatever you enjoy—and use the session as an opportunity to practice, experiment, and grow.
 
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Cost: $50 ($25 for members)
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

A successful painting relies on the harmonious interplay of essential elements: color, value, technique, and a clear focal point. In this workshop, Aline explores these fundamental principles through an innovative approach—viewing subjects as abstract shapes to create compelling illustrative works. Students will work from their own photographic references, transforming them into expressive pastel paintings. Through daily painting demonstrations, Aline will guide participants in understanding color through the lens of temperature, intensity, and value, while demonstrating how to translate these concepts using pastel techniques. A key focus will be the practice of building shapes and strategically carving back into them to achieve a dynamic, painterly finish. This class is a great choice for intermediate and advanced-level pastel painters.
 
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Aline Ordman
Cost: $550
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

Life Drawing, or Figure Drawing, is a foundational practice for artists to study the human figure through observation. During Art League Life Drawing sessions, a model poses for a variety of lengths, from quick 2-minute gesture poses to longer 20–30-minute poses. Short poses help loosen up and build confidence, while longer poses allow for more attention to anatomy, proportion, and detail. All skill levels are welcome! Bring your preferred medium—charcoal, graphite, pen and ink, pastels, acrylics, oils, or whatever you enjoy—and use the session as an opportunity to practice, experiment, and grow.
 
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Cost: $50 ($25 for members)
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

National award-winning artist, Bryan Jernigan, paints impressionistic pastel landscapes and still lifes. Each day in this workshop, he will demonstrate landscapes – from bucolic scenes to sandy beaches – and still life arrangements while he shares with you the secrets of the pastel medium. From choosing the right papers to create your best work to learning the basics of value, composition and color that apply to all disciplines, a new world of artistic possibilities will open up for you. You’ll learn what tools to use, get practical guidance on developing skies, water, trees, flowers and more, explore framing options, and discover application tips and tricks to take your art to the next level as well as techniques to produce loosely expressive, impressionistic works.
 
Location: Glastonbury, Connecticut
Instructor: Bryan Jernigan
Cost: $2,500
Sponsor: Artists Rising Creativity Retreats
Website, email, 860-781-4389

Nature will be our starting point, but rather than copying what we see, we will look for the underlying structure, rhythm, color relationships, and emotional character of our subject. Guided exercises and demonstrations will help participants simplify complex natural forms, take creative risks, and move beyond predictable solutions. We will explore how colored grounds and expressive underpainting can establish mood; how Notan and value patterns can strengthen impact; and how cropping, repetition, and variation can generate compelling new compositions. The emphasis is on exploration, discovery, and building a process that can continue long after the retreat. Students gain a clearer understanding of how to move from observation into abstraction; and practical strategies for beginning, revising, evaluating, and extending their work into a cohesive series.
 
Location: Glastonbury, Connecticut
Instructor: Debora Stewart
Cost: $2,500
Sponsor: Artists Rising Creativity Retreats
Website, email, 860-781-4389

Take your portraits to the next level with acclaimed artist Tony Armendariz in this engaging three-day workshop focused on creating depth, mood, and drama through light and shadow. While the instructor will be working in watercolor, students may work in other mediums as well! This workshop combines daily demonstrations and instruction with plenty of hands-on painting and individualized guidance. Learn how to simplify and interpret reference photos, establish strong values, and use light and shadow to create more compelling, expressive portraits. Students may work from photos provided by Tony or bring their own. Reference photos and preparation instructions will be provided in advance, allowing students to arrive with their drawings ready and maximize their painting time in class.
 
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Tony Armendariz
Cost: $500
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

This workshop will focus on painting “alla prima” (all at once) and developing greater skills of observation, simplification and painting “wet on wet” to create strong “painterly” paintings. The goal is to create an artistic painting that accurately relates the important forms of a composition rather than simply copying everything in a photograph. The workshop begins with painting basics, fundamentals of color, value, edges, perspective and other “practical” elements. Participants will work on a series of timed painting exercises while developing their skills of observation, simplification, bold brushwork and painting in a “decisive” and “intentional” manner. Dan will demo and provide plenty of one-on-one individual instruction each day. This workshop is for intermediate to advanced painters (oil and acrylic).
 
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Dan Graziano
Cost: $550
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738

This workshop takes a deep dive into the nuts and bolts of a strong landscape composition. The emphasis is on shapes and editing. And the goal is to create the illusion of details in your landscape painting without unnecessary rendering, resulting in a more expressive and eloquent capture of your subject. We’ll work through a painting process that maintains the initial shapes and editing, while learning to make selective decisions for the finishing stages. Values and edges will also be addressed. Students will start off using instructor-provided reference photos but will have the option to use their own photos, too. This workshop is open to all levels but geared primarily toward artists with at least some basic painting experience.
 
Location: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Instructor: Barbara Jaenicke
Cost: $550
Sponsor: Art League of Hilton Head
Website, email, (843) 842-5738