Wickford Art Association

Real Flowers, Only Painted with Patricia D'Ambra
2026-07-13 13:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York)
Real Flowers, Only Painted with Patricia D’Ambra
CLASS IS SOLD OUT, please email: wickarteducation@gmail.com to be added to the waitlist
Mondays, July 6, 13, 20, 27 Aug 3, 10 from 1:00-4:00 PM (6 classes)
Intermediate to Advanced Levels Only
In this workshop, students will explore the art of painting flowers with realistic detail and dynamic, eye‑catching composition. We’ll focus on creating striking contrast between vivid, delicate blooms and their surrounding environment while thoughtfully considering all supporting elements of the design.
Emphasis will be placed on mastering light, color, shadow, and reflection to bring each piece to life. Students will also be guided through a range of advanced watercolor techniques, including:

Working with a limited palette
Color mixing
Wet‑on‑wet and dry‑on‑dry applications
Using masking fluid
Building values and glazing
Lifting techniques
Splattering and salt textures
Negative painting
Scraping
Creating realistic water droplets

This class is designed to deepen technical skill while encouraging expressive, confident painting.
MATERIALS LIST
$220 Members | $250 Non-members +$5 Materials Fee to Instructor

3-Day Plein Air Painting Workshop with Sam Allerton Green & Bill Lane
2026-07-15 09:00 - 17:00
ONE SPACE LEFT!
3-Day Plein Air Painting Workshop with Sam Allerton Green & Bill Lane
July 15, 16, 17 from 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM (3 day workshop)
Sam Allerton Green & Bill Lane teach together during their workshops. They both start with a demo of the same scene so that students can witness and learn from their process on identical subjects. Sam will paint in oils, Bill in watercolors. Each day will be held in a different location in the Wickford area. *Locations will be announced closer to the workshop.
Their intro and demo will start promptly at 9:00 am on location and should finish around 10:45-11:00. The students will then paint at the same general location and pick a scene that speaks to them. Sam & Bill will visit each student throughout the day answering any questions and providing suggestions and guidance. Around 3:15 pm students will gather with their pieces–finished or not–for an informal crit. The crit usually lasts until 4:30ish depending on the class size.
Students should grab lunch on their own schedule.
$350 Members | $380 Non Members
CLASS REGISTRATION – CURRENT MEMBERS
CLASS REGISTRATION – NON-MEMBERS
Learn more about Sam Allerton Green
Learn more about Bill Lane

Open Studio
2026-07-16 10:00 - 14:00
Looking for a relaxed, inspiring space to work on your art?
Join us for Open Studio, held on most Thursdays from
10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Please contact the gallery at (401) 294-6840 to confirm availability
This is a non-structured environment where you have the freedom to work on your own projects, whether you’re painting, sketching, or exploring new creative techniques. It’s the perfect opportunity to meet fellow artists, share ideas, and spend time doing what you love!
Fees:

Members: $2.00
Non-Members: $5.00

Bring your supplies, and feel free to drop in at any time during the session.

Summer Pastels with Ann Bianchi
2026-07-19 11:00 - 14:00
Summer Pastels with Ann Bianchi
Sundays, July 19 & July 26 from 11:00AM–2:00PM (2 classes)
All experience levels are welcome.
Enjoy this two-day Pastel Art class with Ann, which offers participants the opportunity to create using various types of chalk and oil pastels while exploring many pastel techniques and unique styles.
Whether you love working with rich colors or quiet tones, this class provides a welcoming environment to learn foundational skills such as layout drawing, color blending, layering for depth, creating smooth gradients, and building texture through expressive mark-making. Ann will offer guided instruction and demonstrations throughout.
We’ll begin with abstract exercises to help you become familiar with each pastel type, then move into practice sessions to discover which materials you enjoy most. Through hands-on exploration, you’ll choose your favorites and work from still-life arrangements or your own photographs to create your own unique and beautiful pastel artworks.
Students may bring their own supplies OR borrow materials from Ann for $10 materials fee
Materials for students if supplying their own:
Oil Pastel or Chalk Pastel sticks or Chalk Pastel Pencils (small size box of 12 or 24) of their choice
Pencils and drawing erasers
Pad of any practice paper of their choice
Any firm sturdy pastel paper or pad to support oil or chalk types
$110 Members | $140 Non-members (Optional materials fee of $10)
CLASS REGISTRATION – CURRENT MEMBERS
CLASS REGISTRATION – NON-MEMBERS

Palette Knife Oil Painting: Explore Color & Texture with Tammy Blais on July 21st
2026-07-21 09:30 - 12:00
Palette Knife Oil Painting: Explore Color & Texture with Tammy Blais
Tuesday, July 21st from 9:30 am – 12:00 pm (1 class) Ages 16 – Adult
All artistic levels are welcome, and no prior experience is necessary
Join artist Tammy Blais for an engaging, hands-on workshop where you will create your own 6″ x 8″ oil painting using only a palette knife.
This class is designed to help you break away from traditional brushwork adn embrace the bold, expressive nature of “impasto” painting. Whether you are a seasoned artist or have never touched a canvas, you will find this process both liberating and rewarding.
What to Expect
Technique over Tools:
Learn how to apply thick, rich layers of oil paint to create striking textures and clean, vibrant colors that only a palette knife can achieve.
Demonstration & Guidance:
Tammy will begin with a short demonstration of her specific “palette style,” showing you how to mix colors directly on the board and apply them with confidence.
Personalized Support:
Throughout the session, Tammy will provide guidance to help you navigate your composition and complete your piece.
Creative Freedom:
This is a fun and explorative environment. Without the precision of a brush, you are free to discover your own unique artistic “voice” and style.
Preparation
Please bring along a few printed photos or sketches to serve as your creative inspiration – landscapes, still lifes, or abstract patterns all work beautifully with this technique.
All artistic levels are welcome, and no prior experience is necessary.

Member Fee $52
Non-Member Fee $82
All materials provided $5 (paid to instructor at class)
CLASS REGISTRATION – CURRENT MEMBERS
CLASS REGISTRATION – NON-MEMBERS

Painting Water & Seascapes with Sarah Hirsch
2026-07-22 15:00 - 18:00

SUMMER CAMP Our Big Beautiful World: Nature Journaling for Kids with Susan Sward
2026-07-27 09:00 - 12:00
SUMMER CAMP Our Big Beautiful World: Nature Journaling for Kids with Susan Sward
Ages 7 – 12
Monday – Friday, July 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
This engaging summer art experience invites young artists and explorers to discover the beauty of the natural world. Led by natural science illustrator and retired public school teacher Susan Sward, students will explore the outdoors at North Kingstown Town Beach and its surrounding park.
Guided by curiosity, students will observe, collect, and examine natural specimens, then record their discoveries in personal art journals using pencil and watercolor pencils. Each day encourages close observation, creativity, and a deeper connection to nature.
Pack a snack for your camper!
$230 | + $15 Supply fee (Payment made to instructor)
CLASS REGISTRATION

Seashells & Beach Finds, Oil Painting with Lisa McAndrews-Morin
2026-08-01 10:00 - 14:00

Textile Shibori Designs with Ann Bianchi
2026-08-02 10:00 - 14:00
Textile Shibori Designs with Ann Bianchi
Sunday, August 2nd from 10:00AM–2:00PM (1 class)
Fabrics from natural cellulose fibers (cottons, linens and silks) will be our “canvases” as we experiment with historical and cultural resist methods. Working in the styles of Japanese Arashi Shibori and Itajime Shibori, we’ll add colorants from liquid acrylics to white cloth for fantastic results. Beautifully prepared cloth will be matted in class and prepared for framing as a piece of art. In this workshop Ann will provide multiple demonstrations and guidance as students work together on each method while also enjoying some historical cultural information shared during demonstrations. Use different fabric sizes in the workshop and note the various effects. Be prepared to be amazed with your results, have fun and witness colors merging onto the textiles as they take on a life of their own! No prior experience needed. All skills are welcome. A $10 Supply fee (including all materials) including fabrics and finished frame mats.
$80 Members | $110 Non-members +$10 Supply Fee (paid to Ann in class includes all supplies for this one-day class)
CLASS REGISTRATION – CURRENT MEMBERS
CLASS REGISTRATION – NON-MEMBERS

Monotype Printmaking with Felicia Touhey
2026-08-06 10:00 - 13:00

Writing About Illness with Humor & Grace with Sharisse Zeroonian
2026-08-08 15:00 - 16:00

Designing with Dahlias: Flowers & Fine Art with Ann Bianchi & Denise Boisvert
2026-08-18 11:00 - 14:00
Designing with Dahlias: Flowers & Fine Art with Ann Bianchi & Denise Boisvert
Tuesday, August 18th from 11:00AM–2:00PM (1 class)
You are warmly invited to a joyful, hands‑on workshop that celebrates both fresh flowers and creative expression. In this special class, participants will first create their own stunning floral arrangements, focusing on Dahlias alongside some other seasonal favorites from Denise’s garden with complementary greenery in clear glass vases. Denise, your floral grower and guide, will demonstrate each step of the arranging process, helping everyone create a piece that feels personal and expressive, and you’ll learn from her about the growing process behind Dahlias. Flowers, fillers, vases, marbles for stem support, and FloraLife will all be provided. After finishing their arrangements, participants will join Ann, your art instructor, for a relaxed art session in drawing and painting, where she will guide you through basic techniques to capture the shapes, colors, and personality of your arrangement.
Students are encouraged to use their own art materials to capture the beauty of their arrangements in favorite styles. This combination workshop blends the joy of hands‑on floral design with the creative exploration of translating real‑life beauty into art, offering a unique experience for all skill levels. Have fun creating a lovely arrangement and bring home both your finished floral piece and the artwork inspired by it.
A $10 materials fee covers all floral supplies, and class takers should bring garden pruners or sharp scissors along with any art materials they enjoy creating with—paints, pencils, brushes, pastels, papers, sketchbooks, or any preferred surfaces and any garden tools for accessorizing their artwork renditions.
$65 Members | $95 Non-members + $10 Materials Fee (paid to instructors)
CLASS REGISTRATION – CURRENT MEMBERS
CLASS REGISTRATION – NON-MEMBERS

CREATING BOTANICALS from Acrylic Skins with master artist Theresa Girard!
2026-08-24 09:00 - 15:00

Autumn Impressionistic Painting with Ann Bianchi
2026-09-13 11:00 - 15:00

Wash On A Line with Betsey MacDonald
2026-09-15 10:00 - 13:00
Wash On A Line with Betsey MacDonald
Tuesdays, September 15, 29 & October 6, 20 from 10:00AM–1:00PM (4 classes)
Intermediate to Advanced Levels
From 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Member $170
Non-Member $200
Drawing improves painting in so many ways and it can be successfully used along with watercolor. Drawing sharpens eye-hand coordination, it improves observational skills, it allows us to simplify complex shapes and establish composition before adding color. First, we’ll study two artists who create beautiful images with line and watercolor. Then we’ll use pens and brushes to draw from life using my dogs as models, a human model, colorful vegetables and fruits as well as our own photographs. We’ll combine our detailed drawings with expressive, soft, loose, translucent watercolor washes, first in monochrome, then a limited pallet and finally in full color. Precise ink lines with loose wet-on-wet watercolor will create a compelling artistic contrast and help us all to be less rigid in our approach to watercolor.
Materials: Watercolor set (an inexpensive tray is fine but a set of tubes with palette is great, too), variety of brushes, watercolor block or pad (at least 140 lb, 8x 10, 12 x 16, 16 x 20, , hot and/or cold press paper, pad of drawing paper or mixed media paper, jar or two for water, spray bottle, #2 pencil, Micron fineliner pens with fine points and brushes, (a simple set of 4 is fine) or nib pens and waterproof ink, like Speedball that won’t run with watercolor, paper towels. Charlie Mackesy’s book, “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” or his new one “Always Remember “ $12 on Amazon ( this is not necessary but it’s gorgeous and we will draw from it in class. I’ll project imagery so you don’t NEED it.

Beyond Likeness: Contemporary Expressive Portraiture with Susan Sward
2026-09-15 14:00 - 17:00

Open Sewing Studio with Emily Bennison
2026-09-16 09:30 - 11:00

Inspired by Nature, Alcohol Inks with Mary Wojciechowski
2026-09-19 10:00 - 15:00
Inspired by Nature, Alcohol Ink Workshop with Mary Wojcienchowski
Designed for those with prior experience but beginners are welcome.
Saturday, September 19th From 10 AM – 3 PM
Member Fee $95
Non-Member Fee $125
Materials Fee $7
See more of Mary’s work here
This workshop will explore the unique qualities of alcohol inks and how they may be used for flowing abstracted works, representational images and subjects that incorporate both. Landscapes will be the primary subject, taking full advantage of these vibrant colored inks that intermingle in ways that creat colore and textural effects, often with unexpected results.
In this one-day workshop, with both guided demonstrations and individual experimentation, students will create expressive landscape compostions combingin the fluid movement of ‘first pours’ with deliberate markmaking. Expansive views of skies, landforms and water as well as detailted depictions of foreground trees will be developed using the unpredictability of this medium to create unique paintings.
Designed for those with prior experience, students will be given opportunities to learn through exploration with a sense of creative playfulness during the process.
All materials and Yupo will be provided and students only need to bring an apron and a snack or lunch.
CLASS REGISTRATION – CURRENT MEMBERS
CLASS REGISTRATION – NON-MEMBERS

Line & Wash Watercolor Batik on Kinwashi Paper with Peter S Turner
2026-09-21 12:00 - 16:00

The Art of Shibori: Creating One-of-a-Kind Dyed Scarves with Peter Turner
2026-09-22 12:00 - 16:00

The Beauty of Small Paintings with Ann Bianchi
2026-09-26 10:00 - 13:00

Plein Air Landscape in Oil, Acrylic or Pastel with Jeneane Lunn
2026-10-04 13:00

Painting The Written Word with Ann Bianchi
2026-11-07 11:00 - 13:30
