If practicing an art or learning a new skill is among your resolutions, this list is for you. Registration is open now at many galleries and schools that teach talents from drawing to throwing a pot. There are options for getting creative for just one day or for committing to learn or hone a skill over several weeks. Many of these organizations also offer instruction for children, but what follows are some of the many art courses for adults that start in the New Year.
DOVER
Artstream
Big Art Night is a social event centered on making art, which you can bring home at the end of the evening. An instructor takes everyone through the process, but also encourages individual style. Appetizers are served, drinks are welcome, and most supplies are included.
Upcoming workshops include silk-screening on clay on Jan. 11, printmaking on Jan. 17, landscape painting on Jan. 24, and encaustic painting on Jan. 25. Check online at Artstreamstudios.com for times and fees, and to register.
Creative Spirit Art
The Collaborative Workshop Series melds the creative and the healing processes. This month, it’s focused on New Beginnings. It explores the art of sacred smudging with herbs by making an herbal blend and creating intentions for the New Year. Workshops are Jan. 16 and 24. See more at Carynduncan.com.
EXETER
Seacoast Artist Association
A drop-in oil painting class with Pat Nickerson is open to all levels on Wednesday Nights at the gallery from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Each week, students may practice techniques, watch demonstrations, view films, learn from student critiques, and share knowledge. The fee is $20 and registration is required. To learn specific skills over time, commit to either a Monday morning beginner’s oil class for five weeks or Friday night oil painting class for eight weeks. See Seacoastartist.org for more.
KITTERY
Kittery Artist Association
Drop-in figure drawing sessions are on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the gallery at 8 Coleman Ave. in Kittery. Bring supplies, including an easel. The fee is $10.
NEWFIELDS
Main Street Art
The winter session for teen and adult classes begins Jan. 12. On Monday evenings, there’s drawing and painting with Heather Hanlon. On Tuesdays, it’s textile surface design with Sam Paolini, and Wednesdays, it’s pastels with Marissa Vitolo. Register online at Newfieldsart.org.
NORTH HAMPTON
Brush & Palette
Robert Steedman’s four-week Watercolor class starts Jan. 6. Lisa Mitchell is teaching a four-week class, Pastel Painting for All Levels, starting Jan. 7. Beaman Cole is offering Mastering Painting, also starting Jan. 7. Todd Bonita teaches an eight-week class on Oil Painting with Layering and Glazing for Beginners, starting on Jan. 8.
Dustan Knight’s one-day Winter Watercolor Workshop is on Saturday, Jan. 10, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The fee is $50. She leads a five-week class on introductory drawing and watercolor starting Jan. 9.
Mary Vermeersch guides Ongoing Oils on Mondays from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and Thursdays from 6 to 9 p.m. The fee is $20. More information is at Brushandpalet.com.
PORTSMOUTH
Drift Gallery
Amy Kosh facilitates figure drawing and painting from a model on Wednesdays from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. The poses range from one to 30 minutes. The drop-in fee is $20, or $15 in advance. Bring your own art supplies. The gallery is at 375 Little Harbor Road.
Kosh also instructs Better Photography, an open studio to further photographic skills, on Wednesdays from 3:45 to 6:45 p.m. The fee is $25 per session, or $20 in advance. On Jan. 7, the group visits Emily Brackett’s Live Free Photography Studio. Register online at Drift-gallery.com.
Portsmouth Music and Arts Center
The next session of classes runs Jan. 12 through Feb. 17. Roger Goldenberg teaches both Introductory Drawing, the classic mainstay of any art program, and Intermediate Drawing, building on that foundation. The beginner class is on Thursday mornings and focuses on basics such as accuracy, shading and perspective, beginning with geometric forms and moving on to more organic ones.
The intermediate class is on Tuesday mornings and moves from fundamentals of line, value, texture, and composition to the abstract nature of design. Tuition for either is $185. Register online at Pmaconline.org.
RYE
Soo Rye
Discover hidden talents with individual or group art lessons in artist Soo Rye Yoo’s studio. Instruction can be in a wide range of media including watercolor, pastel, acrylic, graphite, charcoal, and mixed media. All ages and levels of expertise are welcome. Adult lessons are two hours each, once a week, and $50 per session. Supplies can be purchased at the gallery. Learn more at Sooryeartgallery.com.
YORK
Chases Garage
Mary Sweeney leads an eight-week course on ceramics, including throwing on the pottery wheel, hand building and glazing. Students will also learn trimming and finishing pots and various ways of decorating. It meets twice a week starting Jan. 13 and costs $245, including most supplies.
Jeremy Miranda provides beginner and intermediate students with the necessary tools to establish and strengthen a foundation in observational oil painting. Each class begins with a demonstration and ends with a brief group discussion. The six-week oil painting course meets on Thursday evenings, beginning Jan. 22. Tuition is $280.
An introductory course in etching focuses on various methods of etching, from soft to hard ground, drypoint, spit-bite and aquatint. Sarah Wonson instructs it on Monday evenings, beginning Jan. 26. The fee is $220 for four weeks.
Learn the basics of silkscreen in a comprehensive, hands-on class with Dylan Haigh, and leave with one of a kind works and limited prints. The four-week course is on Wednesday evenings and begins Jan. 28. It costs $220, including materials. Register online for all classes at Chasesgarage.com.
Chases Garage in York, Maine.