Garden Plein-Air Watercoloring at the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden

Whether you’re an experienced painter or have never picked up a brush before, this workshop is for you! Please join us in the garden of the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden to learn some of the unique pleasures of plein-air painting. Plein-air watercolor historically covers a wide range of painting practices. Participants may enjoy recording local botanical flora through painting as a field study or explore outdoor compositional studies. At the end of the session, we will enjoy light refreshments and a glass of wine as we review our afternoon's work and discuss the program.

No experience necessary. Materials supplied. If you have your own materials, feel free to bring them.

Please bring a tea towel or an old smock, or apron to protect your clothes from any paint splatters.

See how watercolor painting outdoors in plein air lends itself to capturing the changing light and colors of the garden and receive an introduction to this NYC historic landmark.

The program includes a brief garden tour followed by a painting session in the garden under the guidance of Thom Heyer.

The MVHM Garden was the recipient of a 2025 Garden Club of America Zone Historic Preservation Commendation for Zone III. In mid-June, it will be full of shades of green as well as a variety of flowering plants such as roses, lilies, day lilies, begonias, geraniums Rose of Sharon, and Mock Orange.

We require a minimum of three participants and a maximum of 12.

About Your Instructor:

Thom Heyer is a New York City based visual artist and retired costume designer. His paintings are often influenced by portraiture and the Maine Coastal Region. Thom's work has been represented in New York at Nexus Gallery, Viridian Gallery and the National Academy of Design. Regionally his work has been represented in Miami, Dallas, Maine and Milan. Thom also does interdisciplinary collaborations with musicians, dancers, and other performing artists. For more info, visit www.thomheyer.com

Art supplies generously funded in part by “BLICK Art Materials” at www.DickBlick.com.

1826-2026: Celebrating 200 Years of the Mount Vernon Hotel