No registration required – all are welcome! $10 cash only 

Looking for a creative way to kick off your week? Join us and Artist, Nina Cherie Cahill, every Monday night at North River Arts Society for Drop-In Craft Night! Bring your own project—whether it’s knitting, sketching, embroidery, sewing, collage, or any craft you're working on—and enjoy a relaxed, welcoming space to create alongside fellow makers.

All skill levels are welcome. This is an informal, social night perfect for getting inspired, sharing ideas, and making progress on whatever you're into. Come solo or with friends—stay the whole time or just pop in!

If you prefer, Nina will have materials available for loom weaving and can assist those who wish to get started on their own small weaving. Some materials for purchase through Nina. 

This group is open to all ages, levels, skills and crafts. 

Looking for more space to spread out and work on a project? Or maybe you want to work amongst other artists to feel inspired and get some helpful feedback on your work. Join other local artists any time between 9am-12pm, for Open Studio. Please pay $10 cash at the door. Bring all supplies you need to use, NRAS has easels available. 

No registration, drop in only, cash or check.

In this half-day workshop, we’ll practice essential watercolor techniques while creating beautiful festive hand-painted paper crafts with a botanical theme that are perfect for seasonal  giving! Materials, demonstrations, and instruction will be provided to create one-of-a-kind gift tags, cards, patterned papers and more. We’ll discuss finding ideas and inspiration from nature and other sources, how to layout your own unique designs, and the basics of painting with watercolor including color mixing and brushwork. This workshop will spark your creativity whether you are new to watercolor or are an experienced artist in need of some playful no-pressure painting.

All levels are welcome and all materials including paints and papers will be provided. 

About the Instructor: Tara Connaughton

Tara Connaughton is an artist/illustrator & art instructor living near the coast in Scituate, MA. Her botanical and nature-inspired paintings have earned multiple awards, and she has exhibited her artwork through numerous local and regional galleries and venues around the Boston area. 

Tara teaches watercolor and botanical illustration through local workshops, privately, and at organizations around the Boston area and South Shore. She has a Certificate in Botanical Art & Illustration, and uses her passion for painting and love of nature to teach and inspire others to find their creative spirit and connect with the world around them.

Tara also creates custom art and illustration for clients across a wide range of subjects, with a focus on custom art for wedding invitations and stationery. 

This comprehensive and enjoyable workshop will better familiarize participants with color palettes, the effective blending of colors, use of brushes, and responsiveness of the medium on different papers. A range of exercises will allow painters to explore and apply various wash methods – wet-on-wet, dry-brush, glazing, blending, sharp and soft edges, dilution control, among others. Each dynamic session will address some of the many aspects of color theory. Using still life subjects & from the instructor’s demos, participants will learn ways to structure & simplify a composition, while learning to see and achieve the dynamic elements of light, contrast, values, movement, textures, etc., which make paintings come alive. Experimentation and interpretative methods will also be demonstrated, discussed and encouraged during the workshop. The workshop will comprise two studio classes, for about 8 hours each day, with a 45-60 minute lunch.

The workshop will provide a relaxed place for participants to quickly understand and then develop their skills, with the watchful input of the instructor. Some previous painting experience would be preferable, but not required. Participant’s abilities should include basic drawing, and a comfort level with watercolor. With a likely diversity of skills, capabilities will vary widely, but one-on-one instruction will be tailored to each individual’s level. Expectations are for a creative, exciting environment from which the collective energies and interests will allow everyone to learn much more than otherwise struggling to discover alone. Also, expectations are for making “mistakes”, and for having fun while learning with an award-winning watercolorist.

About the Instructor: Frank is  an accomplished watercolor painter of urban scenes, landscapes, homes, portraits and still life in a plein air, or a direct alla prima colorist style. He is continually inspired by the effortless, masterful works of watercolorists from many eras and cultures; particularly Sargent, Homer, Turner, Wyeth, Zorn, Reid, Prendergast, Hiroshi and fellow Winthrop native, John Whorf. Frank enjoys the fluid challenge and unexpected possibilities of watercolor. Given the inherent transparency of his preferred medium and infinite range of possible values and colors, he strives to express watercolor’s rich, luminous qualities in his pieces. He also enjoys working on figurative sketches in pencil, pen & ink, and other mediums. Frank is a signature member of the New England Watercolor Society (N.E.W.S.) Boston, and elected member of the Salmagundi Club of New York. He is also a multiple award-winning architectural illustrator for over five decades of collaborating with renowned national architects to produce striking illustrations of projects around the world. Frank recently had a highly regarded exhibition of his illustration works at the Boston Athenaeum, and radio & tv spots on Jared Bowen’s PBS Culture Programs.

"Light, shade, shadow, color, values, textures; the substantive and the fleeting, the design and contours of shape and form; the intersection and interplay of the tangible and intangible – these life qualities are always capturing my attention. The interpretative and unexpected possibilities of the watercolor medium present an exciting artistic challenge to capture these very qualities in every work. "

Materials List: Coming Soon

Embrace Winter! If you are a landscape painter in the North you spend a lot of time looking at snow and bare branches. Instead of dreaming of warmer days (they will come) learn how to make the most of what can be a fascinating and beautiful feature of where we live. We will study the color of snow, the effects of shorter days, and how to paint bare branches against the sky, etc. We will paint on black paper and underpaint on sandpaper, exploring winter in its intricacies, and how it relates to pastel painting. Demonstrations and group critique daily, along with indi- vidualized instruction at your easel. All levels welcome!

Instructor Bio:

Liz Haywood-Sullivan, IAPS/EP, PSA-MP, has been dedicated to working exclusively in the pastel medium since 1996. Her attraction to the medium is pastel's unique ability to capture light and atmosphere in the landscape. She is a sought-after instructor and judge for pastel societies and arts organizations around the world. Liz authored the popular book Painting Brilliant Skies and Water in Pastel (Northlight, 2013). Her award-winning pastel paintings have been featured in numerous books and magazine articles, and have appeared in national, international and museum exhibitions worldwide. Liz is a President Emerita of the International Association of Pastel Societies (2013-2017) and past president of North River Arts Society (2021-2025). Her online instruction can be found at

www.epiphanyfineart.com.

www.lizhaywoodsullivan.com

Materials List: Download Here

Recommended Lodging for Out-of-Town students:

Inn at Scituate Harbor

Fairview Inn

Are your still life’s lacking… something? Whether you’re a beginner or looking to refine your skills, this hands-on workshop will guide you through composition, lighting, color, and technique. I will demonstrate how to layout a compelling still life, the block in, and the techniques to bring your painting to life. You don’t want to miss this weekend workshop!

About the Instructor: I returned to my first love of representational painting about two decades ago. At an early age I fell in love with the works of Rembrandt van Rijn, a love which carries through to today. I remember standing in front of a portrait of his of an old man and finding myself brought to tears. That an artist some 375 years ago, from an entirely different world, speaking a different language, and from a different culture could reach through time and speak so profoundly to a person of my time, to me is, the highest form of art. I seek in my art to reach such a pinnacle of truth, to make my work speak so directly to those who view it.

I paint in a direct style, with a simple limited palette. With sensitivity, mastery of technique, and a magician’s sleight of hand, I endeavor to engage you, the viewer. To not only pique your interest, but to reach your heart.

My works have been presented at the Oil Painters of America, Portrait Society of America, and National Oil and Acrylic Painter’s Society, International Guild of Realism, amongst others. I am a Master Artist at the esteemed Boston Copley Society of Art, a member artist at the Salmagundi Club in New York City, co-founder and teacher at the online academy Epiphany Fine Art and currently paint and teach out of my studio in Norton, Massachusetts.

Materials List: coming soon