INVITED ARTISTS, THEIR WORKSHOPS & DEMONSTRATIONS
All workshops places are €60 each
Click on an artist’s image to go directly to their section.
Suzie Baker
David Diaz
John Dinan
Sam Green
Kate Kos
Kathie Odom
Matt Ryder
Roos Schuring
Keiko Tanabe
Dave West
Color Theory for Plein Air Painters - Tuesday 28th July, 2pm - Inistioge
Join this session to see and understand color in a whole new light! This workshop kicks off with a short presentation with lots of ahh-ha information - followed by painting assignments to apply what we have learned.
Idea to Execution - Thursday 30th July, 2pm - Artramon Estate
A successful painting begins well before the first brushstroke. Regardless of your medium, this workshop provides practical tools for composing compelling paintings. We’ll explore how to identify the core idea that grounds your work, clarify and strengthen that concept, and move forward with greater confidence from initial vision to final execution.
Suzie Baker
Suzie’s Website: https://www.suziebaker.com/
Suzie Baker is an award-winning oil painter based near Houston, Texas, renowned for her expressive, impressionistic style and masterful use of color and light. Her diverse body of work spans landscapes, still lifes, and portraits, all painted with a confident, alla prima approach that captures vibrancy in her subjects.
Her paintings have received national recognition, gracing the pages of Plein Air Magazine, Fine Art Connoisseur, South-West Art and more. She regularly exhibits in prestigious national shows, premier plein air events, and top galleries, withher work held in museum and private collections across the country.
A dedicated leader in the art community, Suzie has served on the Board of the Oil Painters of America since 2014, including a term as President from 2020 to 2022. Painting en plein air since her teenage years, she is also a sought-after instructor, known for her engaging, humorous teaching style. Through workshops, event demonstrations, and instructional videos, she inspires and educates artists worldwide.
Using the Painting Knife - Sunday 26th July, 2pm - Wexford Town.
Painting Nocturnes - Thursday, 30th July, 8.30pm - Wexford Town Waterfront.
Join David painting a nocturne by the Full Moon.
David Diaz
David Diaz is an award-winning artist and educator who is the current President of Maryland Federation of Art (MFA) and co-chair of its Exhibitions Committee. He is past Chair of the Board of the Mid-Atlantic Plein Air Painters Association and serves as installations lead at Quiet Waters Gallery. David is primarily a plein air painter and is honored to be included in the book “100 Plein Air Painters of the Mid-Atlantic”. He received the Mayoral Award for his painting “The Hook” at Europe’s largest international plein air competition in Wexford, Ireland; won the “Annie Award” as Anne Arundel County’s Visual Artist of the Year in 2014; and has received MFA’s prestigious Caruso Award in painting four times. David’s work is in collections in the United States, Europe and Asia.
Workshop 1 - Tuesday 28th July, 10.30am - Inistioge
John's workshop will focus on the importance of building a painting over a strong Tonal Design - he will demonstrate and explain how he develops and selects his design using several Thumbnail Sketches, and how this design is the most critical stage of his Ten Step painting process. He will also advise you one-to-one throughout the workshop as you create your own tonal design and painting.
Workshop 2 - Friday 31st July, 10.30am - Ballyhack (Arthurstown and Passage East).
This morning's workshop will cover the essentials of Atmospheric Perspective - helping you to achieve a real sense of depth and distance in your paintings. He will share the Nine Ways you can create realistic looking three dimensions (3D) in your work and suggest creative ways to enhance this effect in your paintings. He will also advise you one-to-one throughout the workshop as you create your own sense of Realistic 3D in your chosen painting view.
John Dinan
John’s Website: https://johndinan.ie/index.html
John Dinan has a long-established reputation as one of Ireland's best art teachers. His practical, step by step demonstrations, coupled with supportive one-to-one advice to his students make his workshops really helpful and enjoyable.
Don’t Fix It - A Plein Air Workshop on Not Overworking
Tuesday 28th July, 10.30am - Inistioge
In this workshop, we’ll explore how restraint can be more effective than refinement. Using short painting sessions, we’ll focus on capturing the essential design of a scene before the urge to correct, tighten, or explain takes over. The practice encourages acceptance of imperfection and confidence in early decisions.
Colour Before Things - A Plein Air Workshop in De-Objectifying the Landscape
Friday 31st July, 2pm - Ballyhack (Arthurstown and Passage East).
What happens when colour comes first and objects come later—or not at all? In this plein air workshop, we’ll explore ways to let colour override recognition, softening edges and breaking the hierarchy of subject and background.
Sam Green
Sam’s Website: https://www.samgreenart.com/
Sam Green is an artist living in Providence, Rhode Island. Sam is both a landscape and abstract painter who creates works of all sizes and dimentions.
Medium: Gouache. Subject: Introduction to Gouache
Monday 27th July, 10.30am - Cahore. Friday 31st July, 10.30am - Ballyhack (Arthurstown and Passage East).
Have a set of gouache paints but don't really know how to use it? Gouache is ideal for quick paintings and sketches on location. It dries quickly but it can be reworked. Find out how to simplify your paintings and use this versatile medium. During this demonstration Kate will introduce you to and demonstrate how she paints with gouache. Followed by a Q&A session.
Kate Kos
Kate’s Website: https://katekos.com/
Originally from Poland Kate Kos lives and paints in co. Wexford, which has been her home for the last 16 years. Her fondness for the lightness and unpredictability of watercolour make it her favourite medium and her paintings can be described as bold and fresh. She has won several awards both nationally and internationally and has been working as a professional artist for the past five years.
She learned her trade in the open air and still insists plein air is an important part of her evolution and continued growth as an artist. Kate also teaches regular classes and has given multiple workshops over the past few years.
I Can’t Turn Down an Irish Homestead! - Tuesday 28th July, 2pm - Inistioge
Join Kathie Odom as she demonstrates her techniques for painting the structures found in the rural countryside.
How Many Greens Can I Find? - Thursday 30th July, 2pm - Artramon Estate.
Discover colour varieties during this demo from Kathie Odom as she mixes the Irish landscape on her palette.
Kathie Odom
Kathie’s Website: https://www.kathieodom.com/
I call myself a “Nostalgic Impressionist” as a way of identifying the subjects and style of painting that interest me most. No matter which part of America I paint, I am really passionate about plein air and love getting lost in the wonderful process of it all!
Kathie resides with her husband and maintains a studio in the mountains of East Tennessee. She travels extensively and spends much of her time oil painting in the great outdoors. Also, teaching workshops and participating in plein air events occupies much of her calendar. Kathie’s original works have sold internationally, and she is quite proud of her fine art gallery representation.
Painting Light & Atmosphere in the Landscape - Wednesday 29th July, 2pm - Hook Peninsula/Slade Harbour.
This workshop explores how to create depth, mood, and strong visual impact through value control, colour temperature, and atmospheric perspective. Suitable for indoor or outdoor venues depending on the weather!
Painting Roses outdoors - Thursday 30th July, 10.30am - Artramon Estate.
A practical outdoor session focused on capturing the character, form, and subtle colour shifts of roses from life. We’ll cover drawing simplification, controlling saturation, understanding petal structure, and using confident brushwork to convey freshness and immediacy.
Matt Ryder
Matt’s Website: https://www.ryderscanvas.com/
Matt is committed to documenting the beauty of the world, be it land, sea or sky and highlighting the changing landscape that surrounds us through the medium of oil paint. With a true love for the outdoors Matt's paintings often start as small onsite studies, painting Plein-Air in the deserts and mountains in order to capture true light and colour that can be transferred to the studio for larger work. Being predominantly self taught has enabled Matt to develop a technique that is very unique to him with a particular emphasis on bringing the feel of natural light into his work.
Painting Seascapes in Oils
Monday 27th July, 10.30am - Cahore & Wednesday 29th July, 10.30am - Hook Head and Slade Harbour.
Learn about - Painting sand, water and sky, waves, sun and atmosphere, depth, figures, with palette knife and brush. We’ll capture the moment and we’ll learn to be fast, painting the moving and ever changing elements. Sun and rain, we’ll be there, an umbrella will allow us to finish our wonderful results.
Roos Schuring will start the day with a painting demonstration, so you’ll feel confident to start yourself. She will guide you in your process. This workshop is great for beginners as well as advanced painters.
Roos Schuring has taught many groups of painters how to capture the essence of the beach for over 15 years. A plein air painter herself, she’s perfected her outdoor system in gear, speed, and style, and weather tested, she has a lot to share to others. You are welcome to join,…
You’ll get the materials list beforehand…,
Roos Schuring
Roos’ Website: https://www.roosschuring.com/
Roos is an Outdoor Painter living in the Netherlands, 'Famous' for her 'No Fear' approach to All-Weather Outdoor Painting
All weather delivers Beautiful Changing Moments, especially in bad weather one can get surprised with The Most Incredible Moments a painter can ever witness in Nature!.
Theme: Painting Impressions with Watercolour
Monday 27th July, 2pm - Cahore & Thursday 30th July, 10.30am - Artramon Estate.
Recommended Experience: All levels (basic knowledge & some previous experiences strongly recommended to benefit from this workshop)
Workshop Description: Do you paint everything you see, or do you paint what you feel? In this workshop, you’ll begin to see the world through a new lens—learning how to transform everyday reality into expressive, impressionistic paintings that evoke mood and atmosphere. The focus is not on replicating every detail, but on capturing the essence of your subject.
Keiko will guide you from that first spark of inspiration through a process of simplification, leading to a compelling painting rich in composition and meaning. We’ll begin with the fundamentals: getting familiar with our materials and learning to observe with an artist’s eye. Key topics covered in this class include:
Creating a strong preliminary drawing and composition
Exploring a range of watercolor techniques and brush handling
Understanding what makes a strong design
Mastering the relationship of light and dark values
Balancing planning with intuition
Learning how to simplify and edit complex visual information
Each day includes a live demonstration by Keiko, packed with helpful tips and insights. Reference photos will be provided for a studio workshop, and there will be ample opportunity for one-on-one guidance, individual critiques, and daily Q&A sessions.
Keiko Tanabe
Keiko’s Website: https://www.ktanabefineart.com/
Keiko Tanabe, AWS, NWS, AIS, LPAPA. Often working en plein air, her atmospheric watercolours perfectly capture a sense of time and place. Through her use of color, textures, and signature brushwork, Keiko’s landscapes and cityscapes, beautifully convey both the exotic and the simple scenes of the many places she travels. Never attending art school, Keiko took only one drawing class to learn basic technical skills before she started painting in 2005. One year later, after learning basic drawing and watercolour painting skills at a local community school in San Diego, Keiko decided to paint full-time. From then on, she intensely taught herself to be fluent in watercolour painting, just as one would do to master a foreign language. Her subjects include landscape, cityscape, waterscape and interior scenes, which will be demonstrated in the workshop, using representational and impressionistic compositions. Since 2011, Keiko has completed successfully numerous workshops and live demonstrations around the world. She has 4 DVDs and several books of her art and has been featured in many art magazines.
Dave West
Dave’s Website: https://www.davewest.ie/
Creating Small Nocturne Works en plein air - Wednesday 29th July, 10.30am - Hook Head and Slade Harbour.
6x8” canvases - I’ll be using a limited palette, 4 or 5 colour max at a time and aiming to get it done within 30-40 mins, I’ll discuss tactics, materials and do a demo or two.
Dave’s ‘plein air’ landscape painting takes him the length and breadth of Ireland in search of fresh subject matter in addition to occasional trips abroad, he is a regular participant and tutor at plein air events and festivals. He won the Gold Mayoral award at ‘Art in the Open’ Europe’s largest plein air festival in 2025 and 2017, a Silver award at the 2024 event and a first prize at Paint Out Norfolk in 2023.
His work is regularly exhibited at the majority of the most important societies and clubs including the Royal Cambrian, Hibernian, And Ulster Academies. He maintains a strong artistic connection with the UK and shows regularly with the Royal Society of Oil Painters, Royal Society of Marine Artists and the New English Art Club. For the past 3 years his work was selected for the prestigious Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London.
