About Graham Studio/RI

Gary’s Bio

I’ve had a career as an architect, and to this day, I’m still the principal of a small firm in Bristol, Rhode Island. Over the years, my practice has generally satisfied my creative instincts, and as Suzi always said, my work was my hobby! However, I’ve long had a hankering to develop my skill as a watercolor painter.

I was first exposed to watercolors during my first year in the Architecture School at the University of Virginia, and have occasionally taken out the paints over the years . . . up until about 7 years ago when Suzi and I began to take watercolor workshops. First in Vermont, and then as we became more adventurous, we went overseas to Portugal to discover a wonderful teacher: Grahame Booth.

Over the past few years, we’ve had the good fortune of attending annual Grahame Booth workshops in Ireland, England, and France. I’ve also had workshops with Thomas Schaller and Iain Stewart. However, as a busy architect, one week per year, plus a few forays on weekends were the sum total of time that I could devote to painting . . . up until Covid 19 hit.

Confined to our home, we began spending more and more time in our wonderful studio. I started to paint every day, accepting painting challenges from Grahame Booth and the Portsmouth Arts Guild, and taking in-person plein aire workshops with Joel Popadics, Anthony Tomaselli, and Bill Lane, and online courses with Grahame, Vlad Yeliseyev, Keiko Tanabe, and Stewart White. This full immersion into watercolor painting has broken down the barriers to my advancement as a watercolor painter, and I now have aspirations of continuing to develop as a watercolor artist.

Gary is a signature member of the Rhode Island Watercolor Society     

Susan’s Bio

I am a retired attorney, a boastful grandmother and the other half of GrahamStudioRI. I enjoy sharing a studio with my husband, Gary. His space is immaculate. My space…not so much.

I reach out with color, form, texture and familiar objects to tap you on the shoulder and say come share some whimsy with me. Acrylic and oil are my preferred mediums. I like to have an idea in mind when I begin to paint and then let the painting take me where it wants to go.

“We look at a painting to know the painter. It’s his company we are after, not his skill.” James Whistler