Alternatively, you can email your application to annie@rhagallery.ie. The subject line should state “Jade Butler Masterclass”, and applications must include a current CV, brief cover letter and three images of your work.
Application deadline: 13th of October at 4 pm.
Working from photographic reference, participants move through each stage of the process, including imprimatura, tonal structure, colour mixing, brushwork and the refinement of a painting from a reference image. Instruction is delivered through demonstrations and clear step-by-step guidance.
The emphasis is on building the portrait through careful observation of tone and colour, using established oil painting methods in a contemporary manner. The workshop introduces a combined approach in which the first layers are completed in acrylic paint and the final layer in oil paint. This masterclass provides a clear structure for completing a portrait from start to finish.
Artist Bio:
Jade Butler is an Irish painter whose work focuses on contemporary portraiture, drawing on traditional techniques to examine how people construct and communicate their outward image within modern society.
A graduate of West Wales School of the Arts, she is a regular exhibitor at annual exhibitions of the RHA, RUA, RSA and SWA. Her work is held in the Office of Public Works collection. She is currently an artist in residence at Teahouses Studio, supported by Kilkenny Arts Office. Jade is a member of the Artist Panel at the Butler Gallery and was awarded a residency by the RHA School at the University of Notre Dame Kylemore’s ART MFA Programme in 2025. She has also been awarded the ArtLinks Bursary Award 2026 and Creative Ireland’s Creative Communities Award 2026.
Jade Butler, Linh, oil on gesso panel, 25 x 35 cm.
Image credit: Courtesy of the artist.