If you have ever wanted to enter the world of portrait painting this is your opportunity to work with one of the most gifted portrait artists practicing in Canada today. Bill's approach to portraiture is an emotional response to the model and the story he sees within, thus the rendered image is not a slavish adherence to minute detail but likeness realized from his attention to composition, light, value and brushwork. You will learn his procedure and process and begin to develop as a portraitist working with live models.

What is Plein Air? Plein Air is a French expression describing the act of painting outdoors, where the painter reproduces the actual visual conditions seen at the time of painting.

This workshop will focus on simplification of the landscape into a paintable subject. Topics covered will include composition/design, colour and the application of colour. Design/composition, for any medium, is a very important topic that should not be overlooked. In fact it should be the first stage of working.

This intensive course is really a retreat intended to give you the depth of time and exposure to 2 gifted instructors that will allow you the full experience to take your next step as a hooker: creating your own design focused on the world around you. The length of the course will give you time to explore techniques, to trial designs, and to bring one design to the hooking table. The focus of the course is not the completion of the project, but rather to enhance your skills.

This five day carving retreat is a deep dive into the art, craft, and skill needed to develop a large two and three dimensional collective sculpture.

You will be part of The Water Column Project, a five year project, where we create a column depicting the life found in the waters from five different periods of life in the Bay of Fundy, from the carboniferous period to the present day. The large piece of finished work will become public art displayed in the natural environment on the shores of the Bay.

You’ll learn how to make a round willow basket, and you’ll decide what diameter the base will be, what angle the sides will have, and how high you want it to be.

We’ll use a mixture of willow, dried and also freshly cut, from the county of Somerset, where it is grown commercially and from Rumtopf farm in Lunenberg County. This combination offers a wide range of colours.

This three day intensive course is a unique opportunity to work with acclaimed realist Susan Paterson. Her course will focus on the oil painting techniques and approaches that she uses to achieve her stunning results in still life. Students will be encouraged to discover new processes including black box setup, lighting, composition, accurate drawing and transferring techniques, tonal block-in, palette choices, edges, brushwork, and finishing. The object of this intensive is to give you the inspiration and skills that will be a positive influence on your own work in realism.

SOLD OUT FOR 2023: This two day workshop is designed to open the doors to the joys of watercolour painting and if you are familiar with watercolours it will open new doors and provide insights into technique and effect as defined by Joy's personal style and the tools she uses. To watch Joy paint and to ask her questions will absolutely take you to new levels of discovery.

The objective of the workshop, through preliminary explorations and studies is to create a responsive dialogue between the artist and their paintings. The elements of a painting are edited, considered, and justified only if they are necessary to accomplish what the artist's expression and sensibility wish to signify.

In this 2 day course participants will explore a variety of clay related experiences: digging clay on the shores of The Bay of Fundy, near Diligent River, and then processing it to make decorative tiles. Instruction will be given on how to decorate the tiles using textures made from things found on the beach (sticks, wood, stones, shells, rope) and other decorating options, including stain, slip, and glaze possibilities.

The watercolor course will explore the process of making watercolor paint from the basic elements of color pigment and gum arabic. The process will bring students into a new understanding and relationship with the remarkable medium and practice of watercolour painting.

The course will build on the students’ experience of watercolour painting as it offers new understandings of the mediums physical and aesthetic characteristics.

This two day course will explore how pastel, the dry medium, will enhance your understanding of color, composition and design, and of course, the beautiful, flexible medium of pastel. Working from thumbnail sketches, each participant will be working to create pastel paintings that work compositionally to draw the viewer into the artist's world.

This two day studio course will provide you with the opportunity to absorb the working techniques of Sandi Komst, one of the region’s gifted abstract realists. Abstract realism in the Sandi Komst style begins with the inspiration point of subject matter and is then abstracted through composition, focal point, colour and brushwork. To fully understand her technique and results you will be encouraged to leave your preconceptions of process at the door and work toward embracing a new influence on your personal development and style.

Elevate your painting skills by participating in a plein air workshop with Chantal Julien prior to the Parrsboro International Plein Air Festival (PIPAF).

During the workshop, you will learn valuable techniques on simplifying your subject and interpreting the landscape. Joining Chantal in this experience will give you the chance to learn from a skilled artist and refine your own approach to plein air painting.

Learn how to make a Traditional Porcupine quill choker with porcupine quills, beads and leather in this two-day course.

Express your ideas in any painting medium with the expertise and knowledge of Wayne Boucher.

Delve into plein air painting with scenic views of the Bay of Fundy with William (Bill) Rogers.

Enhance your skills in figure painting with live models with William (Bill) Rogers.

Learn how to manipulate wax and pigment to create textural images, the ancient art of encaustic painting with Lynn Rotin.

Interpret the natural world with texture, depth, and design in mind with Lynda Shalagan, hosted by the beautiful Gillespie House Inn & surrounding gardens.

Carve out time to do a five-day intensive wood-carving course with Jennifer Marlow. Depicting life found in a water column of the Bay of Fundy from snails, clams, and plant life at the bottom, to fish and diving birds.

Make your own willow basket and explore different woven forms with Pat Reid.

Also known as blueprinting or sun printing, the Cyanotype technique is still a fast, direct and intriguing way of making images onsite without needing on a camera, phone, darkroom or press.

Learn unique watercolour painting techniques ranging from beginner to advanced with Joy Laking.

Learn the basics on using a coal fired forge and blacksmithing, and create a beginners project. Project output may vary but typical is a fire poker, hooks or tool making.

Learn how to dig and work with natural clay directly from the Bay of Fundy with Janet Doble.

Empty your mind and start filling blank pages with drawings alongside Tom Forrestall.

Shadow Chantal Julien the weekend before the Parrsboro International Plein Air Festival (PIPAF), and learn her techniques.

Transform your inspirations into powerful abstract paintings with Monika Wright.