Sign up for Waiting List

Winter Dates to be Announced-January

5 days: 10:30am–5pm

Tuition: $1,250 — includes materials and meals. Begin each day with morning coffee/tea and nibbles, one community dinner, three homemade gourmet lunches, and social-hour drinks and bites each day.

A truly intimate mini retreat with only 4 students.

$300 Registration to secure your spot.

Kelly Williams Art Studio | Portland, OR

Gather. Ignite. Illuminate.

In this immersion, each work becomes an artifact — shaped by gathered inspiration, transformed in fire, and released into the darkness of winter.

The Winter Renewal Immersion is a four-day intimate retreat for artists ready to slow down, reconnect with their work, and deepen their practice — with new inspiration, strong technique, and genuine self-care woven into every day.

Deep winter is a time of rest and reflection. It's a threshold for stepping forward in your work. We'll build the fire together and make vine charcoal and bone black — dark pigments for mark-making and simple handmade inks. Write what you're releasing on bay leaves and burn them to make room for what's next. Bring something personal to char or offer to the fire, and bring water that carries meaning for you — rain, river, sea, or well. We'll share dinner while the fire burns, setting intentions, discussing prompts, and gathering what we need to begin.

Then we work. During these four days, we cover a lot of ground — fire, nature, encaustic, ash, ink, collage, and mixed media. Remnants from the solstice fire become pigments and inks. Plants and natural materials become mark-making tools and nature prints. As a group, we create shared ink and ash collage papers while individual work evolves along distinct paths. Sun, wind, and rain become creative collaborators when conditions allow, and St. Brigid's Holy Well water from Ireland is on hand to add a little Irish magic.

Grounded in strong encaustic technique, we move from ritual into real application. You'll build surfaces with intention, integrate unconventional materials with structural strength, and expand how your work lives on and off the panel. The skills you develop extend beyond encaustic, strengthening your practice across media.

With only four artists, I offer close mentorship and responsive guidance rather than a fixed syllabus — sustained attention in a setting designed for growth and grounded experimentation.

This retreat takes place in my Portland studio, a working space designed for depth, with places to make, reflect, and pause both inside and outside. Each day I prepare a thoughtfully crafted gourmet menu to nourish and support you. Gathering at the table becomes part of how we honor the solstice and the work we're doing together — a time for connection, nourishment, and quiet care. The studio is fully stocked so you can arrive ready to work.

You'll leave inspired, grounded, and well fed — with work that reflects the depth of the process, new tools to seed the next phase of your practice, and a renewed sense of yourself within it.

Sunday—September 20, 2026 | 10:30aam-4:30pm | $375

OR Build Your Own Workshop: 3-6 students—To Schedule: Email kelly@kellywilliamsart.com

This fast-paced workshop is packed with information and offers a wonderful hands-on opportunity to introduce yourself to the exciting realms of mixed media, collage, and encaustic painting. Throughout the session, I will share multiple techniques helping you deepen your understanding of this rich and versatile paint medium.

A firm foundation of basic skills and safety will be covered with multiple demos that will include set-up, layering and application techniques, fusing options, color mixing, surface texture and mixed media application. There will be plenty of time for hands-on practice and personal feedback. The only requirement is an attitude of curiosity and learning. This workshop is great for non-artist types and beginners, but I will also address those ready for more advanced direction in their painting practice.

I teach to the student, so bring your questions and curiosity and let’s paint! Most materials, including beautiful R&F paints and products, are generously supplied in support of this workshop

Sign up for Waiting List if you are interested in this special opportunity and want to be included in the invitation only invite

Explore your creative depths during a five-day deep dive. This special workshop delves into discovering your unique artistic voice by drawing inspiration from nature and integrating personal narratives. Activities include writing prompts, organic mark-making, and plant printing, with a focus on how to incorporate these techniques into encaustic art. We will explore nature as a way to collaborate with your work—I will share unique ways I have developed to paint with Sun, Wind, Fire, Rain, Earth and Ash. You'll develop a nature inspired 'creative language' to craft artwork with personal significance AND have a ton of fun!

With a special thanks to R&F handmade paints for the materials support.

In Person and Online/Phone

These sessions are a dedicated space—online or in person—to focus on your creative work and your growth as an artist. Depending on your needs, we might explore painting as a tool for personal reflection and emotional processing, or dive into strengthening your technical skills, composition, and artistic voice.

We might review works in progress, explore encaustic and mixed media techniques, plan a project from concept to completion, or develop strategies for sourcing materials and setting up your studio

1-Hour Online or Phone Session
A focused conversation to review works-in-progress, untangle creative blocks, or plan your next steps. This time can be reflective and process-oriented, or direct and skill-focused—tailored to what will serve you most.

3-Hour In-Studio Session
An immersive experience in my Portland studio, blending hands-on painting with meaningful discussion. We’ll work side-by-side—experimenting with techniques, refining your work, or using art-making as a way to process and grow.

Painting With Fire: Season 5

Starts April 24, 2025 | Register Anytime | Lifetime Access

In Season 5 of Painting With Fire, I’m offering two all-new workshops focused on deepening both concept and technique. Materiality & Meaning explores how to build more intentional content—infusing your work with story, symbolism, and resonance. Encaustic on Paper introduces sculptural, flexible, and unconventional approaches for working without panels.

New to Painting With Fire? Season 4 is still available and pairs beautifully with this year’s lineup. My long-format workshop, The Erotic Saint, is a playful and powerful dive into icon-making, personal storytelling, and visual commentary on body, identity, and belief.

Classes are pre-recorded and released weekly on Wednesdays (12pm EST), with lifetime access so you can work entirely at your own pace. You’ll also receive beginner technique videos, exclusive student discounts, and bonus recordings from in-person retreats at Essence of Mulranny, Ireland.

Sign up anytime and start whenever you’re ready. Wax on, fire up.

Weekend Workshop | May 16-17, 2026 | 10:30am-4:30pm | $400

Discover the foundations of encaustic painting in this hands-on workshop designed for curious beginners and non-artists alike — though those ready for more advanced direction are equally welcome. I teach to the student, so wherever you are in your practice, there's something here for you.

Through multiple demos and plenty of time for personal exploration, we'll cover everything you need to build a confident foundation: studio setup and safety, layering and application techniques, fusing options, color mixing, surface texture, and mixed media and collage integration.

Throughout the session you'll receive personalized feedback tailored to your individual approach and the materials you choose to work with.

No supply runs, no scrambling — just show up. Everything you need is provided. Bring your curiosity and leave the rest to me.

R&F Paints and products are generously supplied in support of this workshop and they are FABULOUS.