Welcome to the Portsmouth Arts Guild

This fall enjoy 2 days of plein air painting on (or near) gorgeous Aquidneck Island with Bill and Sam.

Each day will start at 9am sharp with an on-site demo at the designated location. Bill and Sam will paint the same scene; Sam with oils and Bill with watercolors. They will talk about the chosen scene and why, how they plan the composition and determine the values. After which you’ll head off to paint at a nearby location of your choice. Bill and Sam will walk around providing individual attention throughout the day. We’ll have an informal group crit on location around 3:30pm and wrap up around 4pm.

Locations will be announced prior to each day and maps will be provided.

Glass, Water, Silver, Metal: Learn to render these important special effects in your still-life paintings. In this 2-day workshop Judy will share her recipes — step-by-step formulas for creating the illusion of various surfaces in your paintings so you don't have to reinvent the wheel every time. There will be demos and plenty of practice time.

Don't miss this sure-to-sell-out workshop with one of the Guild's favorite instructors.

Held on two Wednesday mornings. This workshop is designed to make the rich tradition of oil painting more approachable. In the first session we’ll cover core fundamentals of the medium. Participants will start a still life painting from direct observation, learning how to build form, value, and color directly on the canvas.

In the second session we’ll focus on the classic oil painting technique of glazing—the process of applying thin, transparent layers of paint over a dried surface to enrich color and create luminous depth. Participants will return to their still life paintings, continuing to develop them on the now-dry surface using this layered approach.