Join us for Artful Evenings
We are excited to announce a new summer program at Lily Pad East in Watch Hill for 2026 — Artful Evenings — a series of intimate artist forums featuring live demonstrations, artist talks, and conversations centered around creative process and inspiration.
David Dunlop & Eleanor Miller & Richard Whitten
Landscapes: intimate and infinite
Thursday June 25, 2026 6 pm to 7 pm
David Dunlop is a modern-day master whose luminous landscape paintings draw from both Renaissance techniques and contemporary science. Witness his painterly skills in action!
Eleanor Miller will share what her work is about- what lives within and depends upon the landscape. Her paintings express a passion and concern for nature, it’s power, beauty and fragility. Animals, birds, ponds and meadows are part of her visual landscape.
Richard Whitten is a painter and sculptor of mixed Asian and American ancestry and a professor of art at Rhode Island College. He is best known for his representational paintings that combine an interest in architecture, invented machinery and toys.
Jonathan Mcphillip, Guido garaycoch & lorena pugh & Heidi Palmer
Charted & Uncharted worlds
Saturday, July 25, 2026 5pm to 6 pm
Jonathan McPhillips celebrates the coastal splendor of New England. Equally adept in the studio or on location, Jonathan's work encompasses harbors, beaches, vessels, and the distinct architecture of the coastal marine environment.
Guido Garaycochea endeavors to express his own vision of reality. As his brush strokes the canvas, he creates structures that defy reality, giving form to visions that exist only in his mind. Each new image is a journey into an uncharted world that exists solely within his art.
Lorena Pugh Works in oils as a contemporary realist, Lorena has received a number of national and international awards. On display is her "Full Moon Rising"-a NASA selected image to be placed in a time capsule on the moon!
Heidi Palmer depicts quiet scenes and explores the effects of various kinds of light. There are no people in her paintings but there is evidence of the universal human desire for solitude and peace in today's world.
Jeanne rosier smith, Serena Bates & Leif Nilsson
Shaping the SEa: Demonstration & talk
Thursday, August 13, 2026 6 pm to 7pm
Jeanne Rosier Smith approaches the ocean as both participant and observer. Her paintings translate the sea’s force, light, and motion into immersive works that evoke the sensation and joy of moving with the waves. Explore the anatomy of a wave from planning to finishing touches with her painterly pastel techniques.
Serena Bates will be live at the Lily Pad Art Gallery for a dynamic, demonstration on sculpting marine animals with ceramic clay. Serena will guide you through her process—manipulating clay with an emphasis on energy, gesture, and life. Don't miss this chance to see a master storyteller shape clay in real time!
Leif Nilsson paints his plein air impressionistic landscape compositions directly from life. Setting up his easel in and around his hometown of Chester, Nilsson creates engaging garden, coastline, and village paintings that invite the viewer to walk right in.
David Schock, linda oconnor & Christopher pierce
beauty & grace
Saturday September 12, 2026 4 pm to 5 pm
David Waterman Schock seeks to share the beauty and meaning of life and the world around him. The main way he has expressed this over the years is through classical painting. His desire is to express the power of love, the profound meaning of beauty, and the deeper nature that lies within all of us. A demonstration of his prowess will surely persuade you to that power.
Linda O'Connor is a New England based artist, interested and trained in pastel painting, life drawing and design but considers herself a life long student of all areas of art and design.
Christopher Pierce is a nationally recognized fine artist who paints florals, still lifes, portraits, figures, and interiors with panache and a mature sensitivity. Along with his stunning portraiture, he is well known for the huge and commanding florals that come from the bounty of his gardens in Upstate New York.