Rhode Island Watercolor Society upcoming events

Landscape Painting - Susan Stranz: 5-WEEK CLASS (Advanced Beginner & Beyond) (03 Oct 2026)

Sat, 03 Oct 2026 13:30:00 GMT

Landscape Painting - Susan Stranz
5-Week Class
(Advanced Beginner & Beyond)

Instructor: Susan Stranz BIO
Date/Time: Saturdays, October 3rd - November 7th, 9:30am - 12:30pm (October 10th class will run from 9am-12pm)(NO CLASS OCTOBER 17TH)
Location: RIWS Classroom (Lower Level Gallery)

DESCRIPTION:

Paint the beautiful New England landscape from the local farms to the cranberry bogs and shoreline. Instruction will include the entire process of creating a well executed landscape painting. A series of technique, color and compositional exercises will help students create beautiful andcohesive paintings.

Suitable for advanced beginner and beyond.

*INSTRUCTOR IS VERY ALLERGIC TO FRAGRANCE. PLEASE REFRAIN FROM WEARING SCENTED PRODUCTS.

MATERIALS LIST

JOIN NOW AND SAVE! Members get a discount on all classes & workshops

Watercolor for Beginners - Susan Stranz: 4-WEEK CLASS (14 Oct 2026)

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 13:30:00 GMT

Watercolor for Beginners - Susan Stranz
4-Week Class

Instructor: Susan Stranz BIO
Date/Time: Wednesdays, October 14th - November 4th, 9:30am - 12:30pm
Location: RIWS Classroom (Lower Level Gallery)

DESCRIPTION:

Join Susan as she teaches you all about the process of creating a watercolor painting. With over 25 years of painting and teaching experience, she will guide you through the complete process at a pace comfortable for beginning watercolor painters. You will learn about the materials, the basic fundamental techniques, and how to develop a good composition. Instruction will also include basic color theory and color mixing to create beautiful and cohesive paintings. A variety of subjects will be painted. Small class size will ensure individual attention for all.

*INSTRUCTOR IS VERY ALLERGIC TO FRAGRANCE. PLEASE REFRAIN FROM WEARING SCENTED PRODUCTS.

MATERIALS LIST

JOIN NOW AND SAVE! Members get a discount on all classes & workshops

Painting Land, Sea, and Sky in Watercolor with Iain Stewart, AWS, NWS - 3-Day Workshop (13 Nov 2026)

Fri, 13 Nov 2026 14:30:00 GMT

Painting Land, Sea, and Sky in Watercolor with Iain Stewart, AWS, NWS
3-Day Workshop
Advanced Beginner & Beyond

Instructor: Iain Stewart, AWS, NWS stewartwatercolors.com
Date and Time: Friday, Saturday, & Sunday, November 13th - 15th, 2026 9:30am-4pm each day, with time for a lunch break
Location: RIWS Classroom

Workshop Description:

In all my workshops I like to try and cover subject matter you will find useful as you move through your painting journey. Dramatic skies, water in different forms, landscape, and the urban environment including entourage, people, cars, boats, etc. At the beginning of every workshop I ask all students to say a few words about what they would like to take away from the time spent together. I take that information and begin to compile a particular methodology where I can touch on everything the students have said is important to them. For me at least, I teach the way I would enjoy being instructed. I am no fan of pulling rabbits out of hats. I want my students to understand my decision making process and why I make certain choices when working.

I demonstrate wet on dry, wet in wet, dry brush, basic and complex washes, as well as how to break down complex forms into their most basic geometry and build from there. “We are so good at adding detail by nature. We are rarely as adept at letting that detail go. Similarly we are fantastic at finding the bad portions of our paintings and much less so the passages that can be quite beautiful.”

The real goal is to see things simply and from there add detail. This structure allows for a deeper understanding of composition, editing, and allowing yourself the freedom to change and rearrange objects within your painting to strengthen your unique voice within the work. I always work from a study sketch as I plan so I can make informed decisions when I do choose to edit.

My thought process is to give the students a well rounded understanding of how I approach as many different subjects as possible which will allow them to try these techniques on their own long after the workshop is over. My goal is simple. I am there to teach. I am not there to blow you away with a few deft brush strokes and leave you wondering what the heck happened.

I believe creating an environment where the students feel relaxed and comfortable is key to letting them find what they have to say. We all have a unique inner voice. I try to demonstrate the importance of that and how valuable it is in creating artwork that speaks to others.

MATERIALS LIST

JOIN NOW AND SAVE! Members get a discount on all classes & workshops

IN FULL BLOOM: Alcohol Ink Workshop: 1-DAY WORKSHOP (ALL Levels Welcome!) (20 Nov 2026)

Fri, 20 Nov 2026 15:00:00 GMT

IN FULL BLOOM: Alcohol Ink Workshop
with Mary Wojciechowski
(ALL LEVELS WELCOME!)

Instructor: Mary Wojciechowski
Date/Time: Friday, November 20th, 10am-3pm
Location: RIWS Classroom (Lower Level)
Materials Fee: $7

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. Florals will be the primary subject, taking full advantage of these vibrant colored inks that intermingle in ways that create color and textural effects, often with unexpected results.

In this one-day workshop, with both guided demonstrations and individual experimentation, students will create expressive floral compositions combining the fluid movement of ‘first pours’ with deliberate mark-making. Designed for both beginners and those with prior experience, students will be given opportunities to learn through exploration with a sense of creative playfulness during the process. Those with prior experience will be encouraged to work in a larger format and to explore more complex applications of the inks.

Materials student will need to provide: A paint shirt or apron and a snack or lunch
Materials provided by instructor: ALL materials supplied

Materials Fee (This is collected by the instructor): $7

Color Theory for Watercolor: Focus on Triads with Diane Hoffman: 1-DAY WORKSHOP (All Levels Welcome!) (09 Jan 2027)

Sat, 09 Jan 2027 15:00:00 GMT

Color Theory for Watercolor: Focus on Triads with Diane Hoffman
ALL LEVELS WELCOME!

Instructor: Diane Hoffman
Date/Time: Saturday, January 9th, 10am-1pm
Location: RIWS Classroom (Lower Level Gallery)

DESCRIPTION:

The Color Wheel is an essential starting point for understanding how colors interact. Yet most artists consider it only as a tool for creating shadows with complementary pairs. Yet it can do so much more. This three-hour workshop will focus on Triads, or three colors equidistant on the color wheel. This class will show how structured and intuitive mixing can create unique palettes with a wide variety of hue, value, saturation, and temperature that are still harmonious and sophisticated. Then we will put this unique palette to the test, using it to create practice paintings with both wet-into-wet and wet-onto-dry techniques to see what it can do.

MATERIALS LIST:

Bring paint, but in class we will limit your palette to 3 tubes or pans to simplify mixing. I suggest: Any yellow, a red that leans cool (like a rose, pinkish), and any blue. If you really like warm red, you can bring this too.
Two sheets of watercolor paper. Any brand, but it must be 100% cotton, 300gsm watercolor paper.
Round brush with a good tip
A large mixing space: Like a dinner plate-sized area
Paper towels
Vessel for water (there are some available at the gallery as well)
Pencil

Below is a visual of the Triad: Azo Yellow (Greenleaf and Blueberry), Permanent Rose (WN), and Cobalt Blue (Holbein). This is one of many examples showing the color wheel, free mixing, glazing, and practice painting of a Peony.