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The Seacoast Artist Association is a group of artists and people interested in art, based in the seacoast area of New Hampshire. Our gallery, located at 130 Water Street in downtown Exeter, is open:

Wednesday-Saturday 10am – 5pm
Sunday 10am – 2pm

We offer new body of work and theme show exhibitions every month by local artists, public art receptions every second Friday evening, classes and demonstrations, and scholarship programs.

See About to learn more about our all-volunteer non-profit organization.

July/August Events

Second Sunday Demo

August 9, 2:00 – 3:30 pm
Gordon Carlisle
Keeping An Open Mind

Gordon Carlisle has been a visual artist his entire life.  He earned his degree in 1973 from the San Francisco Art Institute and has been creating and making his living from public art for over 40 years, from the streets of Montreal to working in the seacoast area of New England in the early 1980’s. Over time, he has completed over 40 public art commissions in a wide variety of settings. Gordon’s work appears in churches and courthouses around New England, as part of various redecoration and restoration processes. Gordon was a partner in Portsmouth’s Mural Works for 10 years before he went out on his own. Since 1989, Gordon has also had 11 solo shows from Maine to New Mexico, and his most recent adventure has made him a theater artist.

If you have ever been “stuck,” now is the time to join us as Gordon helps us experiment with “keeping an open mind” and exploring more than one artistic avenue. The spirit of experimentation has helped Gordon throughout his career and continues to keep him going forward.  Come, listen, and ask questions as Gordon shares the ins, outs, ups, and downs of navigating the perplexing field of art.  Bring a friend! 

Body of Work Exhibit

August 2026
Janice Leahy
Time In a Bottle

(Left: Abandoned Button Factory)

Artist Janice Leahy invites viewers into a world of suspended memory in her upcoming exhibition: Time in a Bottle. Through luminous color, atmospheric brushwork, and emotionally resonant imagery, Leahy’s paintings explore the fragile relationship between time, memory, and the places we leave behind.

The exhibition features a compelling collection of works ranging from shipwrecks and abandoned amusement structures, to glowing city streets, weathered cottages, forgotten objects, maritime scenes, and symbolic Americana.Rather than documenting literal locations, Leahy paints emotional landscapes — places charged with memory, absence, longing, and preservation. Many of the works evoke remnants of another era: rusting ships stranded at sea, silent phone booths, vacant carnival rides, fading architecture, and small personal relics that feel suspended between past and present. “Each painting is like a preserved fragment,” says Leahy. “A moment, a feeling, or a place held still before it disappears.”

The exhibition reflects Leahy’s ongoing fascination with abandoned spaces, maritime imagery, and emotionally symbolic environments. Her expressive use of color transforms familiar subjects into meditations on endurance, loss, nostalgia, and resilience. At once haunting and hopeful, Time in a Bottle invites viewers to reflect on the places, objects, and experiences that continue to live within memory long after time has moved on.

Body of Work Exhibit

August 2026
Dave Turbide
On the Water

(Left: Hyannis Working Boat)

A Newburyport native, Dave started painting later in life, “dabbling” in watercolors for a half-dozen years before taking it a bit more seriously as he approached retirement age. While retirement hasn’t really taken hold, painting has become a much more important part of Dave’s life in recent years. 

After a week-long ”intensive” oil painting workshop with Todd Bonita, Dave worked exclusively in oils for about a year and a half. Eventually, he migrated to acrylics which he finds better fits his temperament and style.

He continues to explore other media – graphite, colored pencil, acrylic markers, pastels, and others, but keeps coming back to acrylics… at least so far. Dave loves to travel and has always been drawn to the seashore and related scenes; boats, fish shacks, sand dunes, seagulls and reflections on the water. This show is focused on small boats and sailboats. Dave is honored to be president of Seacoast Artist Association, and an exhibiting member of Seacoast Artist Association, Kittery Art Association, and juried member of New Hampshire Art Association. 

(Left: Star Spangled Waters)

Cheryl Shanahan is a native New Englander who lives and paints in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region. She has been painting boldly-colored New England-inspired scenes and animals for collectors, corporate clients, commissions, and galleries since 2020. She works with acrylic paints, and her work is recognizable by her loose brushwork and use of vibrant hues. Cheryl’s art is a vivid interpretation of the inspiration she notices in the world around her. A third-generation Granite Stater, she is surrounded by pristine lakes, vintage boats, and robust wildlife. These touchstones inform her current body of work. “Summer in New England” is an exploration of iconic scenes and motifs found throughout the Northeast. Cheryl exhibits in galleries, group and solo exhibitions, and juried shows in New Hampshire and Virginia. She is a graduate of the University of Richmond, Virginia. You may find more of her art and contact her through cherylshanahan.com or Instagram @artbycherylshanahan “My paintings reconnect people with the feeling of being somewhere expansive and alive. Whether the memory is a lake you grew up visiting, a summer you never forgot, or simply the deep human need to step away from the noise of modern life, the work brings that feeling back into the room.”

(Left: Great Head Trail, Acadia)

“I’m a New England native, and I paint where I live. My family has been here since 1632, and after almost 400 years I haven’t moved very far from the wet sand and coastal grasses that met the soles of their shoes. No matter what other subjects I explore, there is almost always a painting of coastal Northern New England in progress. I’m not interested in copying and pasting reality. For me, a successful painting is one that makes the viewer feel like they’re actually standing there — the feel of the kaleidoscopic light, the smell of the salty wind, the sound of the tide clawing its way up the beach and slapping against the rocks. Working in acrylic, I build layers of light while maintaining immediacy and energy. The medium gives me softness in the sky and atmosphere, or sharp, broken movement. My goal is to shift beyond realism and paint full immersion: spark in the collector a memory, mood, or an emotional resonance that feels familiar.” Shawne is also a graphic designer, marketing copywriter, published poet, and a pastor’s wife. More of her work can be seen online at her online gallery and art blog, You Might Like This and on Instagram at @shawnemorrillrandlettart .

Theme Show

August 2026
Beyond the Postcard: Local Color

“Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.” – Twyla Tharp.

Stay local and show your neighbors and our tourists what we love about our home. There is enough to paint here to last a lifetime.

Monthly theme shows are open to all artists – see our SAA 2026 Theme Show brochure (PDF) and entry form (PDF).

Second Friday Reception

August 9, 2026
5:00 – 7:00 pm

This month’s reception at the SAA Gallery features music by the legendary Ben Baldwin and Kent Allyn of the beloved Big Note!

Playing their unique blend of swing and rock, rhythm and blues since 1975, you might be tempted to dance while you shop for some great new art!

Donations are welcome, the parking is free, and we look forward to seeing you!

Classes and Workshops

Watercolor Series: The Ways of Water- #1  June 16th  10-2  $100

Water in the landscape wears many faces. Everchanging in form, color, and its relationship with light. Still water offers reflections in tidepools, ponds, marshes and lakes. Rivers provide moving water that breaks against whatever is in its path.  And of course, the grand ocean gives us water patterns, crashing waves, and dramatic shorelines.  This workshop will begin a series that focuses on one form of water at a time, beginning with still water and reflections. Images that convey water reflections can have strong visual impact, as they add an additional layer of light and illusion.  An overview of techniques and brushwork will be demonstrated. Color options and different ways of saving white areas will be discussed. There will be samples and references on hand to work from, but feel free to bring in your own. Is there a familiar view of water that you’ve been wanting to paint?

Watercolor Series: The Ways of Water #2  June 23rd  10-2  $100

This week will also feature reflections as they can appear in marshes and ponds in dramatic lighting. Moody skies only add to the glowing effects of water reflections. Taking the previous workshop is not a requirement for taking this one. If you did take the previous workshop, feel free to work on paintings you have started and add new elements as you are ready.

Contact Margaret for more info or to register: dwyerdavis@gmail.com

Or visit MargaretDwyerArtist.com

(discount given if you sign up for both workshops)

Each week features a new subject designed to teach both technique and topic – open to all levels. Visit DorisRice.com, where you can also sign up for her newsletter for updates on classes and workshops. Cost is $35/class or $168 for a 6-class card.

See Doris’ instructor profile on our Classes page.

Are you a plein air painter? Or is creating art en plein air something you’d like to try? SAA member Carol Poitras organizes several plein air meet-ups in various locations around the seacoast for artists who enjoy painting outdoors.

View our Plein Air Schedule for the dates, locations, and contact information for this summer’s offerings.