Workshops
Fall Term Workshop Lineup Coming Soon!
NEW Painting the Highwaymen Way
Ray McLendon
Beginner to intermediate levels
Experience the vibrant legacy of the Florida Highwaymen in an immersive oil painting experience led by a second-generation Highwaymen artist. Participants explore bold color, expressive brushwork, and dynamic composition through techniques passed down across generations. Step-by-step instruction guides students in creating a Florida landscape while gaining foundational skills, professional insight, and historical context that honors the spirit of Old Florida and this influential art movement. Click here for recommended supply list.
October 30 – November 1, 2026
Friday – Sunday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Location: VBMA Studios 2 and 3
#26FWS-03 $510 (VBMA Members $430)
Register for #26FWS-03
Biography
Ray McLendon spent much of his childhood in Florida, where he was deeply influenced by his father, Roy A. McLendon, one of the original Florida Highwaymen. As a young boy, Ray helped craft frames for his father’s paintings and often accompanied him on the road, gaining early exposure to the artistic lifestyle. After earning a B.A. in Social Work from Kutztown University, Ray returned to Florida and began painting with his father’s encouragement. He has now been painting for over 25 years, continuing in the traditional Highwaymen style that he grew up with. Once considered street painters, the Highwaymen have since gained recognition for their distinctive and vibrant Florida landscapes. Ray carries on this legacy, exhibiting his work at art shows and museums throughout Florida. 
NEW Seeing the Light: Understanding Light for Photography and Fine Art
J. Scott Kelly
All levels
Explore one of the most important elements in every work of art: light. Using a DSLR or mirrorless camera, smartphone, or photographic references for other visual arts, participants will discover how light influences mood, depth, texture, color, and visual storytelling. Through demonstrations and hands-on exercises, students will learn to recognize natural light, modify existing light, and introduce continuous light sources using simple, inexpensive tools. Working with still-life subjects, participants will experiment with direction, diffusion, reflection, shadow, and contrast. Ideal for photographers of all levels, this workshop also offers valuable insight for painters and other artists seeking to strengthen their understanding of light. Click here for recommended supply list.
November 6 – 7, 2026
Friday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Location: Studio 2 and 3
#26FWS-04 $350 (VBMA Members $295)
THIS WORKSHOP IS CLOSED FOR REGISTRATION.
J. Scott Kelly grew up on the beaches of South Florida, where his passion for photography began. With over 40 years of experience, his career has taken him across the U.S. and abroad, photographing events, landscapes, cultures, and people. He now shares his expertise through clubs, workshops, and classes, including at the Vero Beach Museum of Art, where he helps photographers of all levels discover their own creative style.
Exploring and Creating with Mixed Media
Xaque Gruber
All levels
Students explore a variety of mixed media materials and techniques in this three-day weekend workshop. Using oil pastels, fabric, watercolor, acrylic, pencil, markers, patterned papers, and more, students experiment with drawing, painting, printmaking, and other creative approaches. Designed to encourage exploration and open new possibilities, this workshop introduces students to fresh ways of working and creating beautiful mixed media artwork. Click here for recommended supply list.
November 20 – 22, 2026
Friday – Sunday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Location: Studio 2 and 3
#26FWS-05 $510 (VBMA Members $430)
Register for #26FWS-05
Xaque Gruber is an artist, writer, and filmmaker. He has taught art to people with Alzheimer’s and to cancer patients as they receive their chemotherapy. In downtown Vero Beach, Florida, he manages Gallery Veritas & Art Library, the only library dedicated to art books on the Treasure Coast. He holds a B.F.A in Drawing from Pratt Institute, a M.A. in Teaching from Tufts University, and a M.S. in Television Production from Boston University.
NEW Approaching Watercolor
Joel Johnson
All levels
This workshop will lead the student into the making of images through the watercolor medium. A variety of subjects will be explored emphasizing the elements of art such as complementary color arrangements, textures, and the use of values in a painting. Subjects will lend themselves to applying paint to wet, moist, or dry surfaces of the paper to create a particular mood. A study of paintings employing these concepts will be shown, discussed, and employed in the making of student work. The instructor will be involved in demonstrating these ideas throughout the workshop. Individual and group critiques will enhance the understanding of these principles of painting along with viewing the progress of each of these paintings done in the workshop. Click here for recommended supply list.
December 4 – 6, 2026
Friday – Sunday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Location: VBMA Studios 2 and 3
#26FWS-06 $510 (VBMA Members $430)
Register for #26FWS-06
Joel Johnson has a B.F.A. in art from Westminster College and M.F.A. in painting and art history from Utah State University. A career artist, Joel has received numerous awards, exhibited in many national shows and has been featured in many fine art galleries throughout the country. Joel is a member of the National Watercolor Society and the Transparent Watercolor Society. He is also an exhibiting artist at the Prix de West in Oklahoma City at the Cowboy Heritage Museum. This will be his fifth year and in 2021 he was awarded the Donald Teague award for Outstanding Work on Paper. His work has been featured in Southwest Art magazine and also Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. His work is represented by Mountain Trails Fine Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
NEW Japanese Inspired Relief Printing
All levels
Offered in connection with Hokusai, Hiroshige, Hasui: Japanese Landscapes in Print, this workshop introduces students to relief printmaking through a contemporary approach inspired by Japanese print traditions. Students will explore line, shape, contrast, composition, and nature-based imagery while learning how to create, ink, and print their own relief-inspired images. Through guided instruction, students will consider the relationship between printed images, repeated impressions, and the landscape traditions represented in the exhibition. All materials included.
Tuesday, 1 – 4 p.m.
Location: Studio 2 and 3
#27WWS-01 $150 (VBMA Members $125)
NEW The Art of Kintsugi
Claudia Henao
Beginner level
Explore the beauty of repair through kintsugi, a Japanese art form rooted in the philosophy of Wabi-Sabi, which embraces imperfection and the beauty of the imperfect. Rather than hiding what is broken, kintsugi honors cracks and imperfections by highlighting them with gold. In this hands-on workshop, students will learn a kintsugi-inspired repair technique and transform a broken vessel into a meaningful decorative work of art. Offered in connection with Hokusai, Hiroshige, Hasui: Japanese Landscapes in Print, this workshop connects to broader Japanese aesthetic traditions through themes of repair, transformation, resilience, and beauty. All materials included.
January 23, 2027
Saturday, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Location: Studio 2 and 3
#27WWS-03 $250 (VBMA Members $220)
Register for #27WWS-03
NEW Kokedama: The Japanese Art of Living Sculpture
Claudia Henao
Beginner level
Explore the Japanese art of kokedama, a traditional planting technique that transforms a living plant into a sculptural moss-covered form. In this hands-on workshop, students will use seasonal plants, fresh moss, soil, and water to create their own kokedama living sculpture. Offered in connection with Hokusai, Hiroshige, Hasui: Japanese Landscapes in Print, this workshop connects to Japanese aesthetic traditions through nature, balance, simplicity, and the harmony between art and the natural world. All materials included.
January 23, 2027
Saturday, 1 – 4 p.m.
Location: Studio 2 and 3
#27WWS-04 $200 (VBMA Members $170)
Register for #27WWS-04
NEW Introduction to Sumi-e Painting: Wild Orchid and Bamboo
All levels
Saturday, 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Location: Studio 2 and 3
#27WWS-06 $150 (VBMA Members $125)
NEW Introduction to Sumi-e Painting: Plum Blossom and Chrysanthemum
All levels
Offered in connection with Hokusai, Hiroshige, Hasui: Japanese Landscapes in Print, this workshop continues the study of Sumi-e, the Japanese art of black ink painting. Students will learn about traditional materials, brushwork, ink values, and balanced composition while exploring the brushstrokes used to create plum blossom and chrysanthemum, two of the traditional “Four Gentlemen” subjects in East Asian painting. Through guided instruction, students will consider the relationship between positive and negative space, simplicity, memory, movement, and quiet observation in Japanese visual traditions. All materials included.
Saturday, 1:30 – 4 p.m.
Location: Studio 2 and 3
#27WWS-07 $150 (VBMA Members $125)
NEW The Art of Bonsai: Create Your Own Living Masterpiece
Beginner level
Location: Studio 2 and 3