Artists' Workshop of New Smyrna Beach

Workshops

Want to attend our Workshops and need a place to stay?

We are happy to suggest Anchor Inn. Conveniently located within a mile of our studios, they offer the Artists’ Workshop NSB guests a discounted price when you mention AWI.

(386) 428-3499 | anchorinnbnb.com

November 2024

Pieces of the Puzzle: Negative Shapes

Meet your instructor

Preston King, an award-winning artist, was born in Clinch County, Georgia, USA, in Homerville GA, located just north of the GA-FL line. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Valdosta State University. Later, he returned to school to earn his Bachelor of Science-Nursing degree, also from Valdosta State University. Having recently retired from healthcare, Preston now devotes full time to working exclusively in pastels, with most of his efforts devoted to “en plein air” painting.

Instructor – Preston King

  • November 23 & 24, 2024

  • 9 am to 4 pm
  • Member $325
  • Non-Member $375

Workshop Description

This workshop is designed for both beginners and intermediate pastelist. No experience with pastels is required. We will start with a review basics; color, composition, and elements, but the focus of this workshop will be isolating and executing negative shapes. Participants will complete 2-3 pastel paintings.

Materials List
Registration Form

If paying by mail please complete the attached form

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December 2024

Exploring Gouache – The Versatile Medium

Meet your instructor

Kathleen Denis

Kathleen Denis is known for capturing sun-drenched light in her paintings and is often inspired by scenes of island life and old, charming towns.  Her contemporary impressionistic style begins with a process in either plein air or her studio, using oils or acrylics, sketches, studies and layers of paint.  She starts with realism and ends in creativity, with colorful brushstrokes and energetic movement, inviting the viewer to imagine being there. 

Kathleen was born in Miami, grew up in Ft. Lauderdale, and spent much time in the Florida Keys and Bahamas, which greatly influenced her use of subject matter and colorful style.  Her love of art began at the age of four when taking art lessons from a fashion illustrator.  After graduating from University of Miami, with a BFA degree in Graphic Design, she continued her painting skills by studying from noted master artists.  

Kathleen began a lucrative career becoming one of the country’s top licensed artists, with her art appearing on hundreds of home décor and gift products including wallpaper, kitchenware, bathroom collections and much more, sold through stores such as Bed, Bath and Beyond, HomeGoods, and Marshals.  Her art has been featured in articles in prominent artist magazines and has appeared in movies and tv series like Hawaii 5-O and Bloodline.  Her collectors include the producers of Titanic and Avatar, as well as known political figures.  Her original paintings can be found in Galleries, Exhibits, Plein Air Events and her website at www.kathleendenis.com. 

As a generous and instructor, Kathleen teaches classes and workshops at art centers, including Lighthouse Art Center in Tequesta, FL, where she is a faculty member.  She has won many outstanding awards and is a member of and American Impressionist Society, National Oil and Acrylic Society, Oil Painters of America and is an Official United States Coast Guard Artist.  In addition, Kathleen created a series called “A Scream For Silence” which uses elements in her paintings to reflect God’s Word bringing hope, restoration, and instruction to those in need.

Kathleen resides with her husband Jeff Denis on Singer Island, Florida, with their two adorable Yorkies, Barney and Callie.

 

Instructor – Kathleen Denis
  • Dec 6 1 pm to 6 pm
  • Dec 7  8:30 am to 1:30 pm

(Schedule change to due NSB Christmas Parade)

  • 10-4 (Hour break for lunch)

  • Member $300
  • Non-Member $350

DESCRIPTION:

Gouache is one of the most versatile painting mediums, allowing you to paint similar to oils and acrylics because of its opaque qualities, and also like watercolors with little mess, but with the ability to make changes easily.   The effortless set-up and clean-up make it easy to travel with, using no solvents, only water, as a convenient grab-and-go medium.  Making direct brushstrokes, like acrylics, allows your painting to not get overworked, but its ability to be re-wet, unlike acrylics, allows you to make changes to your painting at any time.   You can use it for quick studies or a finished painting.   The ease and convenience of using them is such a pleasure!  It can be challenging to learn how to use a new medium, so allow me to guide you through the ins-and-outs of gouache so you can enjoy it as much as I do. 

In This Class Learn How To:

  • Choose various surfaces to paint on.
  • Set up a palette box with all your colors in it ready to use.
  • Add medium to your paints so they are more fluid (like oils).
  • Choose which colors to use.
  • Use your pigments to achieve your desired objective.
  • Layer lights over darks and darks over lights.
  • Match dried colors (they change a little as they dry).
  • Soften edges as needed.
  • Varnish your final painting so you don’t have to mount it under glass.

In Addition, You Will Learn About:

  • Composition
  • Values
  • Color Theory

Day 1 – Learn how to use gouache, including your equipment, paints and surfaces.

Day 2 – Paint a scene – either from a photo of your own or a still life. 

*  If painting from a photo, the clearer your photo is, the better your painting will be. Choose one with clear and simple light and dark value shapes.  Viewing photos on a digital device is recommended rather than a printed photo (but feel free to bring a print also).  Don’t forget your charger and extension cord.

All levels may attend but being familiar with how to paint is helpful.

To view Kathleen’s artwork, credentials and awards go to www.kathleendenis.com.

Materials List
Registration Form

If paying by mail please complete the attached form

Purchase Online

January 2024

Luminous Floral Oil Painting

Meet your instructor

Michelle Held

Much like a pink spoonbill soaring through the dusky evening twilight, Michelle brings with her a splash of vibrancy, a flutter of unique perspective, and the beautiful song of nature in its truest form.

Michelle knew from a young age that she was meant to fly the vast skies of the art world with a palette and paints tucked beneath her eager wings. Passionately working as an artist and business owner for the past 30 years in Sarasota, Florida.

Michelle currently participates in invitational paint outs and is widely collected throughout the United States. She is also represented thriving galleries in the US and Ireland.

Her success in the art world has come from her winning combination of creative spark and imaginative nature along with her strong desire to evoke a feeling in her paintings. Often commissioned for custom paintings as well as murals, Michelle’s passion for wildlife and its ecosystems brought her to embrace the natural world through painting from life .

From serene, swampy marshes draped in ancient Spanish moss to tiny, rickety oyster towns bursting with rainbow buoys and boats, there is always a sight to behold. Michelle is passionate about the morning glow of a waking sun.

Michelle believes that evoking a feeling of light, space, and passion is the key to any successful contemporary painting. Michelle gives attention to composition, design and value and gives credence to a “go with the flow” attitude as well, and lets the painting direct her, instead of imposing her will on it throughout the entire process.

Plein air has set flight to many paint outs, the real victory however, has come with her love of teaching. There were so many who encouraged her, Michelle finds that paying it forward is the best way to fulfill the soul.

Instructor – Michelle Held

  • January 11 & 12, 2025

  • 9 am to 4 pm

  • Member $350
  • Non-Member $400

In this exciting floral oil painting workshop where artists will explore the art of color mixing and creating dynamic, eye-catching edges in their work. Whether you’re a seasoned painter looking to learn new techniques or a beginner looking to delve into the world of oil painting, this workshop is perfect for all skill levels.

Through a series of hands-on exercises and demonstrations, and working from life, you will learn techniques and dive deeper into the luminosity and juicy brushwork that oil paint allows you to create. You will also learn how to use edges to enhance depth and dimension in your paintings, creating dynamic and visually appealing compositions.

Led by Sarasota Fine Artist, Michelle Held, this workshop will provide you with the tools and techniques needed to take your painting to the next level. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn something new and expand your artistic horizons. Sign up today and unleash your creativity with color mixing, edges, and more in this exciting oil painting workshop.

Materials List
Registration Form

If paying by mail please complete the attached form

Purchase Online

February 2025

Fundamentals of Oil Painting

Meet your instructor

Martha Ferguson

“My inspiration comes from the familiar subjects that surround me. I love to paint the scenes of old gritty towns, capturing the nostalgic feel of the area and local characters that walk the quaint streets. I am fortunate to share my vision through art while documenting precious moments in time.”

Martha Ferguson is a national, award winning artist from St Augustine, FL. Painting primarily in oil, she considers herself a contemporary impressionist and avid plein air painter. After college, Martha started her professional art career at the Jersey shore where she lived for 30 years. Moving to St Augustine in 2014, she joined local plein air groups that met regularly. Quickly learning the benefits of painting on location, she spends many days painting in the open air and participates in several distinguished invitational paint outs and juried shows. Martha was recently chosen by St Johns County and the city of St Augustine to accompany them to Aviles, Spain as a plein air artist in August of this year for the 100th anniversary of the “Sister Cities” relationship.

Instructor – Martha Ferguson
  • February 1 & 2, 2025

  • 9 am to 3 pm

  • Member $300
  • Non-Member $350

Focus on:

  • Strong Composition
  • Color and Values
  • Finishing elements
  • End with Critique
Materials List
Registration Form

If paying by mail please complete the attached form

Purchase Online

Paint like the Masters….with the Grisaille Method.

Meet your instructor

Tina Corbett Artist Statement:

When I create a painting, I love to evoke emotion in the natural beauty of things, inclining to paint in bold colors and extend on nature’s brilliance. I want my art to tell you a story, to lead you into the image and make you want to be there.

I want my viewers to feel what it is, and what it can be like. Envious of the old masters and of their skill and pride in their work I want to express myself the way the old masters expressed themselves. This leads me to continue to constantly improve my skills so I can capture the outdoors and all the beauty if offers.

Life will continue to guide me toward that artistic goal.

Tina Corbett Bio:

Presently living in High Springs, Florida, Tina Corbett is a fine art oil painter and pastelist. She has devoted her life to her love of art since she was a teenager in South Florida.  She studied Commercial Art at Miami Lakes Tech and served as the Postal Artist Illustrator for the South Florida District Post Office for almost 20 years until her move to northern Florida. There she has decided to pursue her first love, fine art oil painting.

In the past 10 years Tina has taken fine art workshops with some of the best art teachers in the country and has also completed a full year of instruction on pastel with Marla Baggetta. Most of Tina’s works in oils and pastels are nature and wildlife oriented with emphases in Plein Air. Her art is still growing and experimenting with old masters and modern ways, sometimes depicting realism and abstraction in one piece.

Tina actively pursues Plein Air painting all over Florida and the Southern United States. This particular area of Florida has inspired her creativity with its “artsy” spirit and its wonderful array of springs, beautiful ranches, farms and historic “Old Florida”.

She is an active member of the First Coast Plein Air Society, First Coast Pastel Society, Gainesville Fine Arts Association, NOAPS – National Oil and Acrylic Painting Society, Pines and Palms Association in Valdosta GA and the Southeast Pastel Societ . She is the house artist in her own fine art gallery The Lanza Gallery & Art Supplies in High Springs, FL.  Tina regularly participates in various Art Festivals and Plein Air Events around the southern United States.

Tina’s past affiliations included The High Springs Art Coop for 6 years and served 6 years as a board member of Gainesville Fine Art Association.

www.tinacorbett.com

Facebook – www.facebook.com/TinaCorbettArtist

Instagram – tinacorbettart

Instructor – Tina Corbett

  • Feb 8 & 9, 2025

  • 9 am to 4 pm
  • Member $300
  • Non-Member $350

DESCRIPTION:

Paint an underpainting in Grisaille and finish with glazes and impasto.

In this class we will start our painting by concentrating on our light and dark values. We will build our underpainting taking it to almost a finished simplistic black and white painting in acrylics. We will then see the color come to life with our oils using light glazes of colors and opaque’s to finish it off.  Our finished works will be a rich and in depth oil painting, in the style of the old masters.

Materials List
Registration Form

If paying by mail please complete the attached form

Purchase Online

Studio & Gallery

​540 Barracuda Blvd
New Smyrna Beach
FL 32169

​(386) 424-9254

Gallery on Canal St.

115 Canal St
New Smyrna Beach
FL 32168

(386) 492-9995

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PO Box 1194
New Smyrna Beach
FL 32170

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Environmental Considerations

Disposal of Paint Waste Water

 

Download printable PDF: Environmental Considerations Disposal of Paint Waste Water

Artists’ Workshop has instituted two paint waste water disposal processes at our studio facility.

  • These processes apply to the dirty water that is created when painting with watercolor, gouache and acrylic or when using glue in a mixed media project.
  • Oil painters will not pour pigments or solvents into the sink and will dispose of their waste by removing it from the site.

Why are we doing this?

As artists, we want to help in keeping our groundwater as unpolluted as possible. Additionally, our lease requires it. The Wildlife Foundation of Florida is our landlord and the following statement is in our lease: “Sub-sublessee shall not use, generate, store, produce, place, treat, release, or discharge any contaminants, pollutants, or pollution, including, but not limited to, hazardous or toxic substances, chemicals, or other agents (except those used, stored, generated, and disposed of by sub-lessee in the operation of its allowed use of the sub-subleased premises) on, into, or from the sub-subleased premises or any adjacent lands or waters. Sub-sublessee shall only use, store, generate, and dispose of such hazardous substances in strict accordance with the law.”

The EPA holds a non-household facility, like Artists’ Workshop, to tighter disposal restrictions than it would for a household.

What does this mean to us?

We have consulted Jennifer Stirk, an environmentalist at the Tomoka Landfill about proper disposal of our waste water. She told us that

  1. We cannot dump waste water onto the ground.
  2. She also said that any waste water containing toxic substances cannot be poured down the sinks or disposed of in the Tomoka landfill. The list of EPA toxic substances is: arsenic, barium, cadmium, lead, mercury and selenium. Cobalt is not on this list and “hues” of these are usually okay, such as “Cadmium Yellow Hue” as they are made of other yellows, not using cadmium.
  3. It is best to discard a solid instead of washing everything down a drain. Allow unneeded paint to dry on the palette or in the jar and discard it in the trash.
  4. Acrylic pigments cannot be poured down the sinks.

What are we doing to address this?

We will be using 2 processes, the pigment disposal process and the sand disposal method. The first method is described on the “Just Paint” newsletter March 1996 from Golden Paint. The second process has been recommended by Kevin Tobin, a Golden Paint representative. Watercolor, gouache and glue waste water can be emptied into our sinks as long as no toxic substances are present. (If using glue with an acrylic project, it is recommended that the artist keep the glue water separate and pour it down the drain. It doesn’t pour well through the filter system in the pigment disposal process.) The pigment disposal process can be used for acrylic waste water as long as no toxic chemicals are present. The sand method can be used for both watercolor waste and acrylic waste either with or without toxic substances.

In both instances, artists need to wipe their brushes and palettes on paper towels and rags before rinsing in the water to reduce the amount of water used. These paper towels and rags will be put in the Tomoka Landfill garbage for proper disposal in the landfill. Once wiped off, rinse out the brushes in no more than two inches of water in your waste water container.

Pigment Disposal Process

This process uses a chemical reaction called flocculation to separate the water and the pigment. Once the clear water is skimmed off the top, the pigment is filtered and the filter is disposed of in the trash. This process cannot be used with toxic paints.
It uses common garden chemicals which are hazardous so read label precautions. Gloves are provided.

The instructions are as follows:

  1. Dump your waste water into the 5 gallon container in the studio filling it to either the one or 2.5 gallon level. 2.5 gallons is the maximum that can be processed in the 5 gallon container.
  2. Using the glass jar, mix the proper amount of aluminum sulfate into the jar, add a few ounces of clean water and mix thoroughly. For one gallon, use a well-rounded half Tablespoon. For 2.5 gallons of water, measure 1.5 Tablespoons. Pour into the waste water and stir vigorously with a wood paint stick.
  3. Add the proper amount of powdered lime and stir vigorously. For one gallon, this is a scant ¾ Tablespoon. For 2.5 gallons of water, measure 1 ¾ Tablespoon lime. Within a few minutes, flocculation of the solids should begin to occur. You should start to see a clear layer of water forming very quickly as the solids settle to the bottom. If, after several minutes, flocculation has not occurred, repeat steps 2 and 3.
  4. After the solids have settled, scoop off as much of the clear water as you can, using the pitcher, and pour it down the drain or outside.
  5. Assemble the filtering equipment as follows: Place TWO filters in the metal funnel and put them over another empty 5 gallon container. Pour the remaining dirty water onto the filters after flocculation has occurred. After the dirty water has been poured through the filters, the water in the 5 gallon container should be clear. If it is not, pour less into the filters in steps and let it filter through before adding more dirty water.
  6. Place the used filters into the garbage can with the other waste going to the Tomoka Landfill. The clean water in the 5 gallon container can now be poured outside on the ground or down the sinks.

Sand Disposal Method:

This process uses evaporation of the water out of the sand in a bucket.

Instructions are as follows:

An alternative method is available for disposing of waste water resulting from washing off brushes used for acrylic paints. There is an orange 5-gallon container in the large (north) studio filled 3/4rds of the way up with playground sand. During classes and open studio sessions, the bucket will be kept outside in the full sun. It is important that the bucket receive 5-6 hours of sunlight and that the lid be kept open (assuming it’s not raining). In the event of rain, the bucket will be kept indoors and, when not in use, a lid has been provided only if it must be kept outdoors. A ‘dent’ was first made in the top middle of the sand. After each day’s session, monitors or instructors are asked to simply turn over the sand lightly and restore the depression in the top surface of the sand.

As acrylic artists paint and need to clean off their brushes, they should first wipe them off on rags, paper towels or old phone books. We will attempt to keep some old phone books in the studios for our use. Once wiped off, rinse out brushes in NO MORE THAN TWO INCHES of water in your waste water container. No more water than this is needed to rinse off brushes and it is critical to the success of this process that acrylic artists don’t use too much water. It doesn’t matter if you use Cadmium-, Cobalt- or lead-based paints, or mix your colors with medium. The waste water is then poured into the sand bucket, which is, ideally, going to be kept outdoors during studio hours. The bucket should be kept in a sunny location, one which gets between 5-6 hours of sun per day, and in the event of rain, under an eave or awning to protect it.

The bucket has been placed on a luggage cart with wheels so that it can be moved easily in rainy season/weather to a shielded area. The sand bucket should be kept uncovered, and at the end of the day, brought indoors to one of our studios. Thanks to the sun, the waste water evaporates, leaving only the pigmented sand behind. Periodically (as mentioned above), the sand should be turned over with the trowel. This method is advocated as an alternative by Golden paint and by one of its artist representatives, Kevin Tobin. Kevin has used his sand bucket without ever recycling the sand for twenty years. In fact, he brought it here from CA! If the AWI ever needed to get rid of the sand (but it would never need to do that), Kevin has advised that it would need to cover the bucket and take it to a hazardous waste dump site. Golden alternatively suggested using the pigmented sand to create a sculpture from concrete. Kevin developed this method after consulting the local DEP and federal EPA.

The trick is to ensure that folks don’t use a lot of water in their buckets (no more than 2″) and that they first wipe off brushes of excess acrylic paint/medium before dunking them in rinse water. If artists use too much water or don’t wipe off excess paint, the sand method will not work.

Assuming our 5-gallon bucket works out, we will purchase another one or two containers for the sand method. Everyone’s cooperation in introducing this alternative method is requested.

Environmental Considerations: Disposal of Paint Waste Water
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