learn watercolor painting, drawing, or en plein air painting:
Private lessons: $85/ 1 hour; $150 / 2 hr. Please email hi@giselleharrington.com, or call (603) 369-2928.
Supplies lists (for students bringing their own supplies):
Outdoor/ En Plein Air Watercolor
upcoming classes
“Thursday night watercolor painting workshops” at Simpatico Gallery, Charleston, SC
February 12 - April 23, 2026: Thursdays, 6-8pm
Location: Simpatico Gallery, 63 Broad Street, Charleston, SC. Cost: $81.88. Participants may choose to bring their own supplies (see supply list above) or rent supplies for use during the class; Supply rental is: $8. Let Giselle know your decision (and bring payment, cash, check or Venmo) at the first class. Sign up: on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/45221891773
Class description: Every Thursday night in February, March and April, Simpatico Gallery will be hosting a watercolor workshop, open to watercolor painters of all levels. Each evening, teacher Giselle Harrington will cover essential watercolor painting techniques and apply them to a specific subject. Students can join any and as many workshops as they like as suits their schedules and subject-interests: See below for subjects to be covered on specific dates.
Beginners are welcome. Each registrant will receive a series of short videos ahead of time to help prepare incoming students with essential watercolor handling skills: The videos should take students less than an hour to look over and practice from.
Upcoming workshops:
March 19: Sunsets
March 26: Florals
April 2: Birds
April 9: Dogs + Cats
April 16: People
April 23: Landscape composition
(Past workshops: Feb 12: Trees; Feb 19: Fields; Feb 26: Buildings; March 5: Water; March 12: Clouds)
*Class size limit: 5 students
“Watercolor for Beginners” at Isle of Palms Rec Center, Isle of Palms, SC
March 18 - April 22, 2026: 6 Wednesdays, 10am - 1pm
Location: Isle of Palms Recreation Center, 24 28th Ave, Isle of Palms, SC. Cost: $325. 6 Wednesdays, 10am-1pm. Participants may choose to bring their own supplies (see supply list above) or rent supplies for use during the class; Supply rental is: $5 per day or $25 for the full session. You can let Giselle know your decision (and bring payment) at the first class. Sign up: call the IOP Recreation Department at (843) 886-8294, or sign up on their website.
Class description: This class teaches you the traditional methods of handling transparent watercolor in representational painting. You will learn how to control watercolor through washes and glazes, creating soft edges, using wet-in-wet techniques and using dry-brush. You will also learn how to work with the time constraints of the medium through a simplification of value shapes: a key to success in watercolor.
*Class size limit: 10 students
“Watercolor Painting En Plein Air” at Isle of Palms Rec Center, Isle of Palms, SC
March 18 - April 22, 2026: 6 Wednesdays, 1:30pm - 4:30pm
Location: Isle of Palms Recreation Center, 24 28th Ave, Isle of Palms, SC. Cost: $325. 6 Wednesdays, 1:30pm-4:30pm. Bring your own supplies (see recommended supplies list above). Sign up: call the IOP Recreation Department at (843) 886-8294, or sign up on their website.
En plein air painting means literally “in the open air.” This class will teach you how to set up your easel and paint from life, outside (weather permitting: If it is raining, we will work inside from objects from life). This is not a beginner class: In my beginner classes I teach from photos, which help simplify scenes for students. In this class part of the focus is to get comfortable making your own interpretations of what you see in a scene. *Student should come with a basic knowledge of watercolor painting, particularly the ability to build a painting through a series of washes without using opaque media.
*Class size limit: 10 students
“Lessons in Watercolor Painting from CHarleston’s Historic Women Artists,” three individual workshops at The Charleston Museum, Charleston, SC
March 7, March 14, + March 21, 2026: 10am-1pm
Location: Charleston Museum, 360 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC. Cost: $150 per class, $250 for 2 classes, $350 for 3 classes (discounted rates for Museum members). Saturdays, 10am-1pm. Bring your own supplies (see recommended supplies list above).
With its well-preserved architecture, historic streets, and stunning landscapes, Charleston has been a quiet reprieve for artists, many of them women, throughout its history. In this class, we will study the techniques of three women artists and apply what we learn.
The class time will be divided into two sections, starting with a brief talk and viewing of original watercolors from the Museum Archives with Chief Curator Jennifer McCormick, followed by a demonstration with local artist Giselle Harrington. Students will then practice basic watercolor techniques employed in the paintings. The artists highlighted in each class are: Maria Martin (1796-1836) on March 7th, Alice Ravenel Huger Smith (1876-1958) on March 14th, and Anna Heyward Taylor (1879-1956) on March 21st.
Workshop 1, March 7: Artist spotlight: Maria Martin (1796-1836). Register for this workshop here.
Workshop 2, March 14: Artist spotlight: Alice Ravenel Huger Smith (1876-1958). Register for this workshop here.
Workshop 3, March 21: Artists spotlight: Anna Heyward Taylor (1879-1956). Register for this workshop here.
*Class size limit: 12 students
Coming soon! “Watercolor for beginners” at Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School’s Adult Community Education Program, Northampton, MA
June 9 - July 14, 2026: 6 Tuesdays, 10am - 1pm
Location: Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School (1st floor library in the main building), 80 Locust Street, Northampton, MA. Cost: $300/ $325 with supply rental. 6 Tuesdays, 10am-1pm. Bring your own supplies (see recommended supplies list above), or rent from the teacher for use in class. Registration open soon on the Smith Voc website!
This class teaches you the traditional methods of handling transparent watercolor in representational painting. You will learn how to control watercolor through washes and glazes, creating soft edges, using wet-in-wet techniques and using dry-brush. You will also learn how to work with the time constraints of the medium through a simplification of value shapes: a key to success in watercolor.
*Class size limit: 10 students
Coming soon! “Landscape Painting in Watercolor” at Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School’s Adult Community Education Program, Northampton, MA
June 9 - July 14, 2026: 6 Tuesdays, 1:30pm - 4:30pm
Location: Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School (1st floor library in the main building), 80 Locust Street, Northampton, MA. Cost: $300/ $325 with supply rental. 6 Tuesdays, 10am-1pm. Bring your own supplies (see recommended supplies list above), or rent from the teacher for use in class. Registration open soon on the Smith Voc website!
When we think of watercolor landscape painting, we often think of the beautiful Adirondack or Bahamas paintings by Winslow Homer or the en plein air paintings of John Singer Sargent. In this class you will learn how to create impressionistic landscape paintings, by identifying a strong value design and simple color patterns. We will start with a grounding in watercolor brush handling, and how to glaze washes to build up paint layers in the traditional way. You will learn how to choose a scene to paint from, identify a simplified value and color design to paint, and capture this on paper in a planned-out series of watercolor wash layers. We will be using watercolor paint in this class, though the lessons in color and value composition will be useful across media. Students of all levels are welcome.
*Class size limit: 10 students
Coming soon! “Watercolor for beginners” at Looky Here! Art center, Greenfield, MA
June 8 - July 13, 2026: 6 Mondays, 6pm - 9pm
Location: Looky Here!, 28 Chapman Street, Greenfield, MA. Cost: $300/ $325 with supply rental. 6 Mondays, 6pm-8pm. Bring your own supplies (see recommended supplies list above), or rent from the teacher for use in class. Registration open soon on the Looky Here website!
This class teaches you the traditional methods of handling transparent watercolor in representational painting. You will learn how to control watercolor through washes and glazes, creating soft edges, using wet-in-wet techniques and using dry-brush. You will also learn how to work with the time constraints of the medium through a simplification of value shapes: a key to success in watercolor.
*Class size limit: 10 students
Fill this form for: Private lessons, requests for an upcoming class registration alert, and other questions or comments:
QUOTES FROM PAST STUDENTS
“I loved this course. Firstly because of Giselle’s quiet passion to lead us to appreciate, and understand the complexity and logic of water color painting. Secondly because of Giselle’s axiom that appreciation and understanding are nurtured by doing. Thirdly because our doing, with all its flaws, was met by encouragement from Giselle, but never by a diminution in her exacting standards. And finally, because I really appreciated Giselle’s skill as a water colorist and the sense she gave that teaching us was a part of her own process towards greater understanding and mastery of the art.”
“ As a retired art teacher, I appreciated the excellent lesson plans, the clear instructions and helpful demonstrations in Giselle’s watercolor class. She covered many techniques and was flexible in responding to individual queries.”
“Giselle’s Intro to Drawing class was a fantastic opportunity to help myself experience and answer the question that was in my mind “what actually is the foundation for learning how to draw?” Many of us in class and myself included, have never had any or much previous drawing training. Giselle’s guidance and encouragement helped each student tap into that special space within to flex their creative muscles — something I was seeking, and achieved, through this experience. This was also a great way to meet more members in the Western MA community!”
“The watercolor class was very well structured with a clear progression of techniques. Giselle is a very encouraging and thoughtful instructor and conveyed a great depth of understanding of the process. A very enjoyable experience.”
Intermediate Watercolor students at the James Island Town Hall
Watercolor class at the Veterans Affairs in North Charleston
Drawing class at the Isle of Palms Rec Center
A watercolor demo for Intermediate Watercolor students
Giselle, painting en plein air