June 18–21, 2026 | Thursday–Sunday | 10:30–4:30
Tuition: $1,250 — includes most materials, studio tools, four homemade gourmet lunches, and social-hour drinks.

ONLY 4 SPOTS AVAILABLE

$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 revealed in the longest light.

The Summer Solstice Creative Immersion, inspired by my time working in Ireland, is a four-day, intimate retreat for artists ready to slow down, reconnect with their work, and deepen their practice.

During these four days, we work directly with fire, encaustic, ash, ink, and mixed media. Remnants from the Solstice ritual 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. We will also use sun, wind, and rain as creative collaborators when conditions allow.

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. With only four artists, I offer close mentorship and responsive guidance rather than a fixed syllabus. The skills you develop extend beyond encaustic, strengthening your practice across media.

The Solstice, the longest day of the year, occurs during our workshop. It marks a height of light and visibility, a threshold for stepping forward in your work. Across four uninterrupted days, you’ll focus deeply, refine material decisions, and receive 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 are doing together. These meals become part of the rhythm of the immersion, a time for connection, nourishment, and quiet care.

The studio is fully stocked so you can arrive ready to work. Everything here supports sustained focus and serious making.

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.

July 24-26 2026 | Friday-Sunday | 10:30-4:30 | $750—LIMITED TO 4 STUDENTS

Encaustic painting has beautifully unique properties that sing in larger formats. There are particular issues specific to encaustic that require specific consideration and planning to achieve the full impact with less frustration, cost and pain. I have solved and refined many of my approaches after years of painting in a full range of sizes, subjects and scale.

This popular and intimate workshop is designed for those already comfortable working with encaustic paint who want to elevate their skill level and expand in size. We will be covering the many issues inherent to scaling up and tackle the complications of working large. This workshop will walk you through the multitude of challenges with scaling up to ‘large’ works with lots of personal guidance.

We will explore alternative tools, set-ups and substrates as well as compositional issues, large batch paint prep, ergonomics and alternative media to get the most bang for your efforts.

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.

Build Your own Workshop

OPEN TO PRIVATE GROUP BOOKING for 2026

This fast-paced workshop is packed with information and offers a wonderful hands-on opportunity to explore the exciting realms of mixed media, collage, and encaustic painting. Throughout the session, you will receive personalized feedback tailored to your individual techniques and the materials you choose to work with, all aimed at helping you advance your skills and 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! R&F paints and products, are generously supplied in support of this workshop.

Once registered, you’ll receive a detailed supply list along with expanded notes on materials.

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.

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.