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Situated in the peaceful and picturesque landscape of Muscongus Bay, Hog Island is a fantastic destination for artistic inspiration.
This two-night “mini program” is an excellent opportunity to experience a taste of Hog Island’s beauty. In this “choose your own art adventure” session you will have the option to spend the day working on your own or joining short workshops in a variety of techniques.
Whatever you choose, our expert artist instructors will be available to guide you. You will have access to Hog Island’s wealth of inspiration: a stunning coastal environment, a science lab with an extensive collection of bird specimens, and a touch tank and live specimens from the intertidal zone. At the end of the day you can share your work with your fellow artists in a relaxed and supportive environment.
Participants are asked to bring their own sketching and watercolor supplies. Keep it simple and portable!See the Materials Supply List (forthcoming) for details.
Our schedule:
August 16: Participants arrive between 2:00 and 4:00pm and settle into their accommodations. The 5:00pm Welcome Circle is followed by dinner and a presentation about the scientific and artistic history of Hog Island.
August 17: Breakfast! Followed by optional workshops which may include relief printmaking, sketching from live and prepared natural history specimens, and painting the island landscape. After lunch is creative solo time, during which you will have the opportunity to put your new skills to work and/or explore the island. Before dinner we will gather informally to share our work and discoveries from the day, and after dinner we will enjoy an evening program.
August 18: Breakfast! And departure back to the mainland.
Pricing: $650
The base registration fee includes meals, housing, instruction, and all field trips. This price is based on a standard shared room (with 2 twin beds) a shared bathroom. A limited number of upgraded accommodations are available for an additional cost. Two upgrade options are a single room for solo travelers or a room with a private bath for two people traveling together. There are no single rooms with private bathrooms available. Please see our lodging page for more information.
Participants must arrange their own transportation to and from the Audubon dock in Bremen at the start and end of the session. Please see our transportation page for more information.
There are several scholarship opportunities available to help participants attend Hog Island sessions! Please see our scholarships page for more information about Hog Island Scholarships. You should also check with your local Audubon chapter or bird club for additional opportunities.
Requirements: There are no prerequisites for this program! Artists of all skill levels are welcome.
Director: Sherrie York
Instructors: Sean Murtha and Barry Van Dusen
Sean Murtha has lived all of his life near the Long Island Sound. The marshes, beaches, and wide open skies attracted his artistic sensibilities and inspired his first plein-air paintings in his early teens. He still makes a regular habit of drawing and painting in the field, using these as a basis for oil paintings completed in the studio. He earned a BFA in Painting from Pratt Institute in 1990, but feels his true education was gained at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, where he worked from 1995 until 2007.Sean first came to Hog Island in 2016 as part of the Artist-in Residence program, and has longed to get back ever since. He has also been an Artist-in Residence at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Museum in Wisconsin, and at Great Gull Island, a tern-nesting colony off Long Island, NY. In 2013 he was named “Bird Artist of the Year” by CT Audubon. Sean lives with his wife, two sons (when they are home from college) and an indoor cat in Norwalk, CT, not too far from the Long Island Sound. His artwork can be seen at www.seanmurthaart.com
Barry Van Dusen has illustrated many publications for the Massachusetts Audubon Society, and his bird illustrations have appeared in books published by the American Birding Association, HarperCollins, Princeton University Press and Cornell University (Comstock). At the invitation of the Artists for Nature Foundation, Barry has traveled to Spain, England, Ireland, India, Peru and Israel, working alongside other wildlife artists to raise money for conservation of threatened habitats. Barry was elected a full member of Britain’s Society of Wildlife Artists in 1994, and he contributes annually to their London exhibition. In 2014, Barry was named Master Artist at the annual BIRDS IN ART show (Wausau, Wisconsin) - an award which recognizes artists who have shown “outstanding achievement in using bird imagery in their artwork”. Previous recipients of the award include Roger Tory Peterson and Robert Bateman.
In the last decade, Barry has been Artist-in-Residence at several museums and botanic gardens around New England, and most recently, he finished a five year project visiting and painting at all of Mass Audubon’s sanctuaries throughout Massachusetts. This project resulted in a book, FINDING SANCTUARY, published in Spring 2020.
NOTE: Audubon reserves the right to alter itineraries, instructors and particular arrangements, or to substitute similar itineraries or arrangements, at no penalty. If Audubon cancels a session, it will issue full refunds of all deposits or payments to the paid participants.
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